This might be the time for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to put some of their pride aside and admit that while they’ve done excellent work filling out weaknesses on defense at cornerback and edge rusher, there’s still work that needs to be done at inside linebacker.
Outside of 35-year-old veteran Lavonte David there isn’t much to rely on, where it seems to be a battle between injury-prone Sirvocea Dennis and a bargain basement free agent Anthony Walker Jr. to start opposite the 14-year NFL veteran.
That’s not really going to cut it for a team on the verge of being a legitimate NFC contender, so adding an additional free agent linebacker might be the best idea at this point.
It just so happens there’s one available who is still plenty capable of elevating Tampa Bay’s defense in free agent Eric Kendricks, an 11-year veteran and former NFL All-Pro who has eclipsed 100 tackles in in 9 consecutive seasons.
Kendricks, who has $55.9 million in career earnings, had 138 tackles, 2 interceptions and 3.0 sacks for the Dallas Cowboys in 15 games in 2024.
To get Kendricks in the fold, the Buccaneers might start with a 1-year, $3 million offer, with the willingness to go up to $4 million or put incentives in place that would allow him to get to that number.
Kendricks Has Long History of Doing the Dirty Work
Kendricks, 6-foot and 232 pounds, was an All-American and the Butkus Award winner at UCLA in 2014 before he was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round (No. 45 overall) of the 2015 NFL draft.
Kendricks had 92 tackles as a rookie — the only season of his career under 100 tackles. He was named NFL All-Pro and a Pro Bowler in 2019 with 110 tackles, 12 pass deflections, 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries.
He played the first 8 seasons of his career with the Vikings before spending 2023 with the Los Angeles Chargers and 2024 with the Cowboys.
One thing that’s been lacking from Kendricks’ career is any sort of significant postseason success. In 11 seasons, he’s only played in 6 playoff games.
David One of NFL’s Elite For Over Decade
The Buccaneers addressed the 2 weakest position groups on defense in the offseason by signing free agent edge rusher Haason Reddick to a 1-year, $14 million contract and drafting a pair of cornerbacks in the early rounds with Notre Dame’s Benjamin Morrison and Kansas State’s Jacob Parrish.
Fortunately and unfortunately for the Buccaneers, one position group that hasn’t come under much scrutiny over the last decade has been off-ball linebacker — what people over 30 years old call an inside linebacker — thanks to the presence of David.
David has seen a career renaissance over the last 3 seasons and was arguably the Buccaneers’ best defensive player down the stretch in 2024. Sitting at 4-6, Tampa Bay’s defense rallied around David on defense and Baker Mayfield on offense to finish 10-7 and make the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.
David had 122 tackles — his third consecutive season with over 120 tackles — to go with 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception, 9 TFL and 5.5 sacks.
The problem isn’t David, but who is playing next to him. Last season’s primary starter next to David, K.J. Britt, was one of the NFL’s worst inside linebackers with a 44.6 overall grade from PFF. That placed him 171st out of 189 eligible players at his position.
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