Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2022 NFL Season Betting Preview (Could This Be Tom Brady's Last Dance?)

Tom Brady was gone… until he wasn’t!

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers avoided the quarterback carousel this offseason when Brady unretired, but did lose head coach Bruce Arians, stepping down to give way to Todd Bowles. 

The Bucs nearly came back to beat the Los Angeles Rams in last year’s playoffs, and there’s no doubt that this season will have some “Last Dance” vibes with Brady already showing that he was willing to retire. Brady has also missed time in camp for personal reasons, something we have never seen from him before. 

Regardless, the Bucs return a star-studded roster, although they’ve dealt with offensive line losses, specifically guard Alex Cappa (signed with Cincinnati), guard Ali Marpet (retired) and center Ryan Jensen (injury). 

Can the new group keep Brady upright all season long? The Bucs have to hope so if they want to come through on their futures odds.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2022 Offseason Moves, Signings, Coaching Changes

• Promoted Todd Bowles to head coach. 
• Signed WR Russell Gage.
• Signed WR Julio Jones.
• Signed DB Logan Ryan. 
• G Ali Marpet retired.
• Re-Signed WR Chris Godwin.
• Re-Signed RB Leonard Fournette.
• Signed TE Kyle Rudolph. 
• TE Rob Gronkowski retired.
• Signed S Keanu Neal.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2022 Schedule

For the second straight season, the Buccaneers open against the Dallas Cowboys in primetime, this time on Sunday Night Football. 

The first four games are not easy for Tampa, as it takes on Dallas, New Orleans, Green Bay and Kansas City. 

The NFC South should be an easier division, but games against the Baltimore Ravens, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals make this one of the harder schedules you’ll see. 

If the Bucs take care of business in the division, they should have a solid springboard to hit their win total in 2022…

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2022 Win Total Prediction

• OVER 11.5 (+115)
• UNDER 11.5 (-135)

Tampa Bay did win 13 games last season, and it won 11 in Brady’s first year in Tampa, but I think the UNDER is the play here. 

Yes, the division is easy, but the Bucs have seven games against teams that are favored to make the postseason in 2022. That doesn’t include two games against New Orleans, one against the Arizona Cardinals and one against the Cleveland Browns.

Brady seems to have one foot out the door, and as much as he’s hard to bet against since he’s the greatest winner in NFL history, the offensive line issues are a real concern. Brady needs to be kept upright, and the Bucs can’t afford to become one dimensional if the running game takes a step back with Jensen, Marpet and Cappa gone inside. 

The Bucs defense should still be one of the better units in the league, but I think 10 or 11 wins is around where Tampa ends up in 2022. 

LEAN: UNDER 11.5 (-135)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2022 Odds to Win Division, NFC, Super Bowl

• To Make the Playoffs: YES -600/NO +425
• Odds to Win NFC South: -250
• Odds to Win NFC: +340
• Odds to Win Super Bowl 57: +700

If there’s anything I’d bet here, it would be Tampa to win the NFC at +330. Even with the concerns outlined above, the NFC still is fairly weak after the Packers and Rams. 

Dallas, San Francisco and others have major flaws on their rosters as well, and the Bucs do have the ultimate trump card in Brady. 

The Packers have shown they are not reliable come postseason time, and if Jensen returns or the Bucs find more offensive line help during the season, the offense should improve come the playoffs. 

The Rams are probably the biggest threat to Tampa actually winning the conference. 

LEAN: Bucs to Win the NFC (+340)

Follow along with BetSided's picks on Betstamp all season long.