Haason Reddick’s run of four straight seasons with at least 11 sacks came to an end in 2024 and limited production on the field was only part of the reason.
Reddick was traded by the Eagles to the Jets last offseason and did an introductory press conference with the team before deciding to hold out in hopes of landing a new contract. He ended it during the season, but had just one sack in 10 games for the AFC East club.
Reddick signed a one-year, $14 million contract with the Buccaneers this week and said that he feels ready to pick up from where he was before the lost season.
“Very bizarre,” Reddick said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “Weird. It’s just a fresh start. I know everybody is worried about last year, but last year is last year,” he said Friday. “I’m here now. Different mindset. Different space. Just ready to put the past behind me and continue to move forward, and what better place to do it than here?”
If Reddick can rediscover his form, he’ll be well positioned for a bigger contract at this time next year and the Bucs defense will be a thorny one for opposing offenses.
Sterling Shepard will be back with the Buccaneers in 2025.
General Manager Jason Licht announced on social media that Tampa Bay has agreed to a one-year deal with Shepard.
A second-round pick in 2016, Shepard joined the Bucs last season after eight years with the Giants. He caught 32 passes for 334 yards with a touchdown and rushed eight times for 69 yards in 14 games.
Shepard played his final season at Oklahoma with Baker Mayfield behind center back in 2015 and the two reunited last season.
In 104 career games, Shepard has tallied 404 catches for 4,429 yards with 24 touchdowns.
Free agent offensive tackle Charlie Heck is signing a one-year deal with the Buccaneers, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports.
Heck likely will serve as the team’s swing tackle, replacing Justin Skule, who is joining the Vikings.
The Texans made Heck a fourth-round pick in 2020, and he played four seasons in Houston. He appeared in 41 games and started 21.
After the Texans cut Heck out of training camp last summer, Heck joined the Cardinals’ practice squad. He stayed there until signing with the 49ers on Christmas Day. He played seven games for the Cardinals and made two starts for the 49ers.
Heck played 117 offensive snaps and 37 on special teams last season.
He has appeared in 50 games in his career with 23 starts.
The Vikings have agreed to terms with free agent offensive tackle Justin Skule, Alec Lewis of TheAthletic.com reports.
Skule will provide insurance for left tackle Christian Darrisaw, who tore an ACL and MCL in a game against the Rams on Oct. 25.
Skule played all 17 games with five starts for the Buccaneers last season.
He spent his first three seasons with the 49ers, who drafted him in the sixth round in 2019. He appeared in 31 games with 12 starts in San Francisco.
Skule joined the Bucs in 2022 and played 35 games with five starts in Tampa.
The Patriots met with the media on Thursday to discuss their early offseason moves and at least one they didn’t make.
Reports indicated that the Patriots made an effort to sign wide receiver Chris Godwin, who said he was “really close” to joining another team before he decided to return to the Buccaneers. During Thursday’s press conference, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was asked about Godwin and the team’s plan to address the wide receiver position in the future.
Vrabel declined to comment on any pursuit of Godwin while saying that the Patriots will still be looking for additions at the position.
“I’m not going to talk about any of the players other than the ones that are right here and the ones that are currently on our football team,” Vrabel said, via a transcript from the team. “We’ll continue to target. Mack Hollins will be in here tomorrow. He’s a wide receiver. But we’ll continue to look at the wide receiver position as it relates to free agency, explore every option with other teams, and potentially then we’ll get to the point where we’re looking at the draft. There’s just a lot of time, and I know that everybody is like, it’s over in free agency. It’s never over.”
Vrabel had a similar answer to a question regarding center David Andrews’s release and the team’s offensive line plans. That area and receiver were seen as major needs as they build around quarterback Drake Maye heading into his second season.
The Buccaneers are set to make a veteran addition to their linebacker group.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the team has agreed to terms with Anthony Walker on a one-year deal.
Walker will help fill the hole left by K.J. Britt. Britt will returning the favor as he has agreed to a deal to help replace Walker on the Dolphins defense.
Walker played 14 games and made eight starts for the Dolphins last season. He had 68 tackles, a sack, an interception, and two passes defensed.
The Bucs also re-signed Lavonte David this week. SirVocea Dennins remains under contract while J.J. Russell was not tendered as a restricted free agent.
K.J. Britt is moving further South in Florida.
The former Buccaneers linebacker is signing a one-year deal with the Dolphins, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Britt, 25, was a fifth-round pick in the 2021 draft. He’s appeared in 59 games with 15 starts — 11 of which came in 2024.
He had his most productive season last year, tallying 72 total tackles with two for loss and a half-sack. Britt was on the field for 65 percent of defensive snaps in games played and 29 percent of special teams snaps.
In all, Britt has posted 126 total tackles with four for loss and two QB hits.
The Buccaneers are making an addition to their secondary.
Tampa Bay has reached an agreement on a one-year contract with former Detroit cornerback Kindle Vildor, his agents told Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Vildor was one of the few players who played all 17 games on an otherwise injury-ravaged Lions defense last season. He got two starts and played 22 percent of Detroit’s defensive snaps and 48 percent of Detroit’s special teams snaps.
Originally a fifth-round draft pick of the Bears in 2020, Vildor also played briefly for the Titans.
The Buccaneers are bringing back backup quarterback Kyle Trask.
He agreed to a one-year, $2.787 million deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports.
Michael Pratt is the only other quarterback under contract behind starter Baker Mayfield.
Trask, 27, entered the NFL as a second-round pick of the Bucs in 2021. He has played seven games in four years but has never started a game.
In 32 snaps over four seasons, Trask is 4-of-11 for 28 yards.
The Vikings confirmed a number of previously reported agreements after the start of the new league year on Wednesday afternoon and they also announced one that had not leaked ahead of time.
Defensive back Tavierre Thomas is joining the NFC North club. The Vikings did not announce the terms of the deal.
Thomas had 14 tackles in 17 games for the Buccaneers last season. He was almost exclusively a special teamer in Tampa, but started 19 games over three seasons with the Browns before heading down to Florida.
Thomas joins cornerback Isaiah Rodgers as new additions to the secondary in Minnesota. The team’s deals with center Ryan Kelly and guard Will Fries were also part of the announcement.
