Fans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have prayed to the football gods for several gifts over the years. An exciting offense. A franchise quarterback. An early 2000’s throwback defense. A consistent kicking game. A playoff appearance. A playoff victory.
The list goes on. Most of these prayers have gone unanswered, but 2018 has seen one significant wish granted: the Buccaneers finally have talent at defensive end.
The drought of Buccaneer pass rushers has stretched back to Simeon Rice, who played his final season for the Bucs in 2006. For the entire time between 2006 and 2017, the Buccaneers were almost entirely without edge pressure, aside from one shining season from Michael Bennett before the team foolishly let him walk.