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Home |Bucs Mailbag: Roles For Sean Tucker, Ted Hurst? Who Starts At ILB?
By Scott Reynolds
Jul. 20, 2026
7:30 am
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Bucs Rb Sean Tucker
Home |Bucs Mailbag: Roles For Sean Tucker, Ted Hurst? Who Starts At ILB?
By Scott Reynolds
Jul. 20, 2026
Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport X account this week in the Bucs Mailbag. Submit your question to SR each week via X using the hashtag #PRMailbag. Here are the Bucs questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.
QUESTION: What is it going to take for the Bucs to feature Sean Tucker and make him the bellcow running back?
ANSWER: The real answer is injuries to Bucky Irving and Kenneth Gainwell will determine how many snaps Sean Tucker gets. That may not be the answer you want to hear, but that’s the truth. Right now Tucker is RB3 on the depth chart with Irving as the starter as 1A and Gainwell considered to be 1B – rather than RB2. That’s largely due to the fact that Gainwell was given a two-year contract worth $14 million, averaging $7 million per year. And the fact that Gainwell was extremely impressive in the offseason in both the running game and the passing game.
Now the Bucs really like Tucker, too. They didn’t have to give him the restricted free agent tender of $3.52 million this year but the team chose to in free agency. That makes Tucker the second-highest paid running back on the team behind Gainwell and ahead of Irving, who makes half of Tucker’s salary because he’s on his rookie deal.
Bucs Rb Sean Tucker And Lt Tristan Wirfs
Bucs RB Sean Tucker and T Tristan Wirfs – Photo by: USA Today
Tucker has proven his worth before with a pair of 100-yard games – at New Orleans in 2024 and at Buffalo in 2025. Both of those games featured Tucker scoring multiple times and ripping off big runs that showcase his 4.33 speed. Tucker has shown that he can be a lead back, but that may not happen in Tampa Bay given the fact that there are two very talented backs just ahead of him on the depth chart.
Yet he is a very valuable asset. And with Irving missing seven games last year due to injury, it was wise to go ahead and tender Tucker with the restricted free agent price tag of well over $3 million, which is very pricey for a third-string running back.
The good news for Tucker is that he will be featured in the preseason, as Irving might not even play, and Gainwell might play sparingly. Josh Williams and rookie Kadarius Calloway will also see plenty of action in the exhibition games this August, but Tucker will have the opportunity to really shine and prove to new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson that he is worthy of a larger role than most third-string running backs receive.
Tucker has also helped his cause by improving as a pass protector. He made big strides in that area last year, in addition to continuing to improve as a receiver. That makes him a potential factor to see time on third downs, not just first and second downs. And that makes the Bucs offense less predictable too, because when Tucker is in the game it’s not an automatic tell to the defense that he is going to carry the ball and that Tampa Bay is going to call a running play.
QUESTION: How much workload should we expect for Ted Hurst?
ANSWER: That will be determined by how good of a camp and a preseason Ted Hurst has. If the the rookie from Georgia State picks up from where he left off during the offseason when he dazzled during the rookie mini-camp, OTAs and the mandatory mini-camp, he could be in the mix to start in 11 personnel as Zac Robinson’s X receiver.
Hurst impressed the team’s coaches and scouts by catching the ball cleaner than the team expected with hardly any drops, and his route running ability was a bit more sophisticated than the team had anticipated with Hurst playing at smaller schools like Valdosta State and Georgia State. At 6-foot-4, he’s the tallest receiver the Bucs have in the wake of the departure of 6-foot-5 wide receiver Mike Evans. That size gives Hurst the ability to do things Tampa Bay’s other receivers just can’t do, like be a lower red zone weapon that can high point balls and win 50-50 jump ball situations.
Bucs Wr Ted Hurst
Bucs WR Ted Hurst – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
I’ve gone on record suggesting that Hurst will lead the team in catches, yards and touchdowns during the preseason. There were practices where Hurst would receive the ball on multiple occasions on successive downs from backup quarterback Jake Browning, and the two have been developing quite a rapport. Hurst will certainly receive plenty of playing time during the preseason, as the Bucs will likely want to keep Chris Godwin Jr., Jalen McMillan and Emeka Egbuka out of harm’s way in August.
So if Hurst has the impressive preseason that I think he will have, he will certainly be at least WR4 on the depth chart likely behind McMillan and ahead of Tez Johnson and see plenty of action as a quasi-starter. If he underwhelms in August, I think Hurst would receive spot duty in lower red zone situations where his big body could be used on fade passes to the end zone like Baker Mayfield used to send Evans’ way on a regular basis.
QUESTION: Who has the inside track to be starting at inside linebacker?
ANSWER: Veteran newcomer Alex Anzalone will certainly start on the weak side at the Moneybacker (Mo’ ‘backer) role, replacing Lavonte David, who retired at age 35. Anzalone, 31, should prove to be an upgrade over David, whose play had been in decline due to age over the last two seasons. And there’s a chance that Anzalone might start the season wearing the green dot and calling the defense for Todd Bowles due to his experience in the league.
Ideally, the Bucs would like to see rookie Josiah Trotter start at middle linebacker (Mike) because the team spent a second-round pick on the Missouri product. But Trotter, 21, has only two years worth of college playing experience, and he might not be ready to fully digest and be able to operate Bowles’ defense by Week 1 against Pro Bowl quarterback Joe Burrow.
Bucs Ilb Josiah Trotter
Bucs ILB Josiah Trotter – Photo by: Adam Warren/PR
If he’s not ready, Bowles could start SirVocea Dennis, last year’s starting Mike linebacker, just due to his experience. Dennis is entering a contract year and will be plenty motivated to play his best football in 2026. He has a strong football I.Q. and four years worth of knowledge about Bowles’ system – not to mention the experience that comes with starting all 17 games last year.
There could also be a situation where Bowles platoons both Trotter and Dennis for the first few games of the 2026 season, as he did with K.J. Britt and Dennis at the start of the 2024 season before Dennis suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. That would take some pressure off Trotter initially and ease him into an eventual role as the full-time starter later in the year. It all depends on how much of the playbook Trotter truly absorbs in training camp, and how many plays – and how few mistakes – he makes in the preseason.
QUESTION: If this defensive line can stay healthy and everyone lives up to their potential and hype, where do you think they rank among other D-lines in the league?
ANSWER: This is a good question, but one I’m probably not qualified enough to answer on my own because I have such tunnel vision on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and don’t really cover the rest of the NFL. Statistically speaking, the Texans, Rams, Eagles, Broncos and the Ravens likely comprise the top 5 defensive lines based on my quick research, and that feels like the right answer given those teams’ respective personnel.
Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Denver and Baltimore all have multiple Pro Bowlers among their defensive fronts, whereas the Tampa Bay defensive front has just one player – nose tackle Vita Vea – who has been to a Pro Bowl. Four out of five of those teams have a double-digit sacker on their roster with the Eagles being the team that doesn’t have one. And the Bucs haven’t had a double-digit sacker since Shaq Barrett had 10 in the 2021 season.
Bucs Dts Vita Vea And Calijah Kancey
Bucs DTs Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey – Photo by: Jeffrey Jones/PR
There is a world where that happens in Tampa Bay this year, whether it’s Yaya Diaby having a breakthrough season and getting to 10 sacks because of enhanced talent around him, or whether it’s Calijah Kancey finally staying healthy for an entire season and eclipsing his career high of 7.5 seasons in 2024 by reaching double digits. Or maybe it’s a breakout rookie season for Rueben Bain Jr., who builds on his 9.5-sack campaign last year at Miami and wins NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors with a 10-sack performance in 2026.
I think there could be a scenario where Tampa Bay fields a top 10 defensive line this year if everyone lives up to their potential – and stays healthy. That’s paramount. In order for Todd Bowles’ unit to truly be considered elite, Tampa Bay would have to eclipse 50 sacks, which is something the Bucs defense has yet to do with Bowles calling the plays since his arrival in 2019. The Bucs managed just 37 sacks last year, which was a huge disappointment.
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Scott Reynolds is in his 30th year of covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the vice president, publisher and senior Bucs beat writer for PewterReport.com. Author of the popular SR's Fab 5 column on Fridays, Reynolds oversees web development and forges marketing partnerships for PewterReport.com in addition to his editorial duties. A graduate of Kansas State University in 1995, Reynolds spent six years giving back to the community as the defensive coordinator/defensive line coach for his sons' Pop Warner team, the South Pasco Predators. Reynolds can be reached at: [email protected]
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