ADDITIONAL 2025 CHANGES/DEVELOPMENTS OF NOTE
Buccaneers:
• The Buccaneers rolled into 2025 with their fourth offensive coordinator in the last four years. This year's transition, however, is a bit different than the last two. In 2023 and 2024, Dave Canales and Liam Coen, respectively, came to town with entirely new offensive systems that the players had to absorb. In 2025, the Buccaneers followed the departure of Coen to be the Jacksonville Jaguars' head coach by promoting former Pass Game Coordinator Josh Grizzard from within. Grizzard is certainly evolving the Bucs' offense in new ways and have his own spin on play-calling, but the basic system remains the same, offering a very helpful continuity for a team that is also returning all of its offensive regulars from a unit that finished in the top five in 2024 in net yards, points scored, rushing yards and passing yards. After Grizzard's promotion, the Buccaneers also hired one of his former colleagues, Kefense Hynson, to be the team's new pass game coordinator.
• To celebrate their landmark 50th season, the Buccaneers are unveiling a new sort of throwback uniform in 2025. In addition to the popular "Creamsicle" togs that they will don for the Thursday night game against Atlanta in Week 15, the Bucs are also wearing, for this season only, a white version of their original uniforms worn during the 1976 season. Those uniforms made their debut in the home opener against the Jets in Week Three and will be broken out again when the Bucs play at Seattle in Week Five, a game that is a battle of the NFL's two expansion teams from 1976.
• While Todd Bowles remains the play-caller for Tampa Bay's defense, he did make some changes to his defensive coaching staff. Mike Caldwell, who was part of the Bucs' staff from 2019-21 when Bowles was the defensive coordinator, returns to tutor the inside linebackers. Larry Foote has moved from inside linebackers to outside linebackers and is also the team's run game coordinator. George Edwards, who previously coached the outside linebackers, is now the pass game coordinator.
• The Buccaneers had a handful of significant injury concerns to monitor as the 2025 season opens. Wide receiver Chris Godwin continues his return from a series lower leg injury suffered in Week Seven of last season and All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in July. Both players are potentially in play for a return in Week Four against the Eagles. Wide receiver Jalen McMillan sustained a severe neck strain in Week Two of the preseason against Pittsburgh and is expected to be sidelined for at least half of the regular season. He is currently on injured reserve but can be designated for return. Since the start of the season, the Buccaneers have also lost defensive linemen Calijah Kancey, tackle Luke Goedeke, guard Cody Mauch and tight end Ko Kieft to injured reserve. Goedeke is expected to return from IR at some point but Kancey, Mauch and Kieft are likely to miss the rest of the season.
• The changes made to the kickoff process by the NFL during the offseason appear to have impacted the Buccaneers' strategy for that play in a significant manner. Now that a touchback on a ball caught or landing in the end zone puts the ball at the receiving team's 35, the Buccaneers have relied a lot less on touchbacks, which they produced on more than 75% of their kickoffs last year. With that in mind, the team took kick coverage units into serious consideration when shaping the 53-man roster and multiple players – including linebacker John Bullock, cornerback Josh Hayes, outside linebacker Markees Watts and wide receivers Ryan Miller and Kameron Johnson – made the team in large part due to their special teams contributions.
• When he arrived in Seattle as the new head coach in 2024, Mike Macdonald brought in former Commanders offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb to hold the same position on his staff. That pairing only lasted one year, as Grubb was dismissed and replaced by Klint Kubiak, who had spent the previous year as the offensive coordinator in New Orleans. Kubiak was also previously a coordinator with the Vikings in 2021 and a passing game coordinator on Kyle Shanahan's 49ers staff in 2023.
• The Seahawks made a number of other changes to their coaching staff in January and February. John Benton is the new offensive line coach, Andrew Janocko is now in charge of the quarterbacks and Rick Dennison arrives as a run game coordinator and assistant offensive line coach.
• Seattle made some dramatic changes to their offensive lineup heading into Macdonald's second season at the helm. On March 13, the team traded its starting quarterback, Geno Smith, to the Las Vegas Raiders for a second-round draft pick and a swap of sixth and seventh-round selections. On the same day, the Seahawks signed former Vikings quarterback as an unrestricted free agent to be their new starter. After releasing long-time standout receiver Tyler Lockett a week before the start of free agency, the Seahawks made a trade of wideout DK Metcalf to the Steelers official on March 13, getting a third-round draft pick back in the deal.
• Other veteran players released before the start of free agency by Seattle included tackle George Fant, safety Rayshawn Jenkins, linebacker Dre'Mont Jones and defensive tackle Roy Robertson-Harris. Guard Laken Tomlinson, who started all 17 games in 2024, also left in free agency to join the Houston Texans.
INJURY REPORT
DNP: Did not participate in practice
LP: Limited participation in practice
FP: Full participation in practice
NL: Not listed
Buccaneers:
• LB Lavonte David (knee) – WEDS: LP
• CB Jamel Dean (hip) – WEDS: DNP
• WR Mike Evans (hamstring) – WEDS: DNP
• DL Greg Gaines (pectoral) – WEDS: DNP
• WR Chris Godwin (ankle) – WEDS: FP
• DL Logan Hall (groin) – WEDS: LP
• T Charlie Heck (knee) – WEDS: FP
• RB Bucky Irving (foot/shoulder) – WEDS: DNP
• S Christian Izien (quad) – WEDS: DNP
• QB Baker Mayfield (knee/right biceps) – WEDS: DNP
• CB Zyon McCollum (thumb) – WEDS: FP
• CB Benjamin Morrison (hamstring) – WEDS: DNP
• OLB Haason Reddick (neck) – WEDS: LP
• WR Sterling Shepard (foot) – WEDS: DNP
• S Tykee Smith (ankle) – WEDS: DNP
• T Tristan Wirfs (knee) – WEDS: LP
(The Buccaneers conducted a walk-through on Wednesday. The practice status notations are estimations for what would have happened in a full-speed practice.)
• S Nick Emmanwori (ankle) – WEDS: FP
• T Josh Jones (ankle) – WEDS: DNP
• DE DeMarcus Lawrence (quad) – WEDS: DNP
• S Julian Love (hamstring) – WEDS: DNP
• WR Cody White (shoulder) – WEDS: FP
• CB Devon Witherspoon (knee) – WEDS: DNP
WEATHER FORECAST
Partly cloudy. High of 66, low of 48, 12% chance of rain, 64% humidity, winds out of the N at 11 mph.
GAME REFEREE
Head referee: Craig Wrolstad (23rd season, 12th as referee)
BETTING LINE
• Favorite: Seahawks (-3.0)
• Over/Under: 44.5
INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS
Buccaneers-
Points Scored: K Chase McLaughlin, 35
Touchdowns: WR Emeka Egbuka, 4
Passing Yards: QB Baker Mayfield, 904
Passer Rating: QB Baker Mayfield, 95.1
Rushing Yards: RB Bucky Irving, 237
Receptions: RB Bucky Irving, 19
Receiving Yards: WR Emeka Egbuka, 282
Interceptions: CB Jamel Dean, 1
Sacks: Vita Vea, 2.0
Tackles: S Tykee Smith, 33
Points Scored: K Jason Myers, 39
Touchdowns: WR Tory Horton/RB Kenneth Walker, 3
Passing Yards: QB Sam Darnold, 905
Passer Rating: QB Sam Darnold, 106.5
Rushing Yards: RB Kenneth Walker, 244
Receptions: WR Jaxson Smith-Njigba, 26
Receiving Yards: WR Jaxson Smith/Njigba, 402
Interceptions: S Coby Bryant/LB Ernest Jones/CB Derion Kendrick, 2
Sacks: DT Byron Murphy/DE Leonard Williams, 2.5
Tackles: LB Ernest Jones, 33
TEAM STAT RANKINGS
Buccaneers-
Scoring Offense: 15th (24.3 ppg)
Total Offense: 15th (335.8 ypg)
Rushing Offense: t-10th (124.0 ypg)
Passing Offense: 15th (211.8 ypg)
First Downs Per Game: t-13th (19.5)
Third-Down Pct.: 22nd (37.0%)
Sacks Per Pass Attempt Allowed: 13th (5.76%)
Red Zone TD Pct.: t-29th (36.4%)
Scoring Defense: 22nd (24.3 ppg)
Total Defense: 4th (272.8 ypg)
Rushing Defense: 5th (85.0 ypg)
Passing Defense: 11th (187.8 ypg)
First Downs Allowed Per Game: t-12th (18.0)
Third-Down Pct. Allowed: 3rd (32.7%)
Sacks Per Pass Attempt: 15th (7.94%)
Red Zone TD Pct. Allowed: t-15th (60.0%)
Turnover Margin: t-13th (0)
Scoring Offense: 6th (27.8 ppg)
Total Offense: t-16th (332.3 ypg)
Rushing Offense: 18th (110.8 ypg)
Passing Offense: 13th (221.5 ypg)
First Downs Per Game: t-17th (19.3)
Third-Down Pct.: 17th (39.1%)
Sacks Per Pass Attempt Allowed: 14th (5.83%)
Red Zone TD Pct.: 14th (64.3)
Scoring Defense: 2nd (16.8 ppg)
Total Defense: 13th (297.0 ypg)
Rushing Defense: 6th (89.8 ypg)
Passing Defense: t-17th (207.3 ypg)
First Downs Allowed Per Game: 18th (19.0)
Third-Down Pct. Allowed: 18th (39.0%)
Sacks Per Pass Attempt: 16th (7.89%)
Red Zone TD Pct. Allowed: t-6th (46.2%)
Turnover Margin: t-10th (+1)
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• DL Vita Vea recorded two sacks in the Buccaneers' Week Four game against Philadelphia, pushing his career total to 32.5. He currently ranks 11th in team history in that category and would leap-frog over both Brad Culpepper and Jason Pierre-Paul with one more sack.
• S Antoine Winfield Jr. has 18.0 career sacks, tied with four other players for the 11th most by a defensive back since sacks became an official statistic in 1982. Two more sacks would allow him to tie Charles Woodson for 10th place on that list.
• RB Bucky Irving has 1,944 yards from scrimmage since the start of his rookie season last year. With 55 more against the Seahawks on Sunday, he would join Warrick Dunn and Doug Martin as the only players in Bucs history with 2,000 yards from scrimmage in their first 25 NFL games.
• QB Baker Mayfield has an NFL-high 77 touchdown passes since the start of the 2023 season, his first in Tampa. With three more, he would tie Josh Freeman (80) for the third most touchdown passes in franchise history.
NOTABLY QUOTABLE
• Head Coach Todd Bowles on what has impressed him most about the defense through four weeks: "We just have to have attention to detail earlier. Like on the first drive, we've got to handle the first drive a lot better and play fast. We can't take that out of it even though they've played well in the second half and done some things. We've got to keep the score down and we've got to give the offense more turnovers. So, from that standpoint, they can be better, but they're playing hard, and they're playing tough, and they're playing fast."
• Quarterback Baker Mayfield on his relationship with Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, with whom he was a teammate with the Panthers in 2022: "Sam and I are really close. I'm happy for him – from going a couple different places that weren't great for us to having a good opportunity elsewhere, it's fun to see. I knew he just needed that chance, and he's thriving now. It's good to see, but hopefully not this weekend."
• Wide receiver Emeka Egbuka on how the offense is going to bounce back after the Week Four loss to Philadelphia: "We are going to have to start fast. That is really the bottom-line for us. We do not really know why we have been off to a slow start -- that is what film is for. We need to trust in the game plan that the coaches have given us, and we [have] to be able to just let it rip come Sunday night."
• Cornerback Jacob Parrish on "playing bigger" when he moves from the slot to outside cornerback: "I would say my mindset. I grew up as a wrestler, so I am pretty physical, I like to hit and do all those things. Anytime I step out on that field, I am not thinking about size, I am thinking about how I can win my matchups, so I feel like that allows me to be successful out on the field."
• Defensive lineman Elijah Roberts on "In this scheme, it is kind of hard for a defensive lineman not to make plays. He puts us in so many different gaps and positions just to be able to play in the backfield on their side of the line."