3 surprise cuts the Buccaneers could make this offseason

TAMPA, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 07: Tom Brady #12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrates with head coach Bruce Arians after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium on February 07, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers defeated the Chiefs 31-9. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

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TAMPA, FLORIDA – SEPTEMBER 08: Bradley Pinion #8 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers punts the ball during training camp at Raymond James Stadium on September 08, 2020 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images) /

Only once has a wild card Super Bowl champion repeated the following year.

They became the first team since the 2010 Green Bay Packers to win three consecutive road playoff games and capture the Super Bowl. The wild card Tampa Bay Buccaneers, led by a ferocious defense and the steady calm of veteran quarterback Tom Brady, unseated the Kansas City Chiefs as NFL title holders, 31-9, at Raymond James Stadium in Super Bowl LV on the first Sunday of February.

Bruce Arians led the franchise to its second NFL title one year after a 7-9 debut in Tampa in 2019. No team has repeated as Super Bowl champion since Brady and the Patriots managed that feat in 2003 and ’04. Via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, the organization is working on a contract extension with the ageless performer. But the club has a number of offensive and defensive starters that can test free agency (via Spotrac). Meanwhile, what veterans may soon get their walking papers?

3. P Bradley Pinion

Special teams remain a very vital part game of football and the Buccaneers got solid performances this past season from not only their punter but kicker as well. Ryan Succop joined the team in the offseason and hit on 28-of-31 field goal attempts and was 52-of-57 on PATs. And “Mr. Irrelevant” of the 2009 NFL Draft (by the Chiefs) was 12-of-13 on PATs and a perfect nine-for nine in field goal tries during the 2020 postseason.

Meanwhile, Bradley Pinion was the NFL’s 19th-ranked punter in terms of average (45.2) but led the NFL with 85 touchbacks. And that was a good thing considering the Bucs were dead last in the league in kickoff yards per return allowed. But the reality is that the team is very strapped in terms of finding a way to re-sign some of the key performers and they could part ways with the six-year pro and look for another specialist down the road.

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