Haason Reddick on Iron Sharpening Iron
In March, the Buccaneers acquired free agent Haason Reddick to bolster the team's pass rush. His combination of burst off the edge and elite bend have made him one of the most formidable rushers in the NFL in recent seasons. Overall, Reddick has appeared in 124 career games between the Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets, making 83 starts and compiling 419 tackles (71 for loss), 102 quarterback hits, 59.0 sacks (14 strip sacks), 20 passes defensed, 18 forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries throughout his NFL tenure. Dating back to the 2020 season, Reddick posted four seasons with double-digit sacks, tied for the second-most in the NFL, trailing only Myles Garrett (five). Reddick's 51.5 sacks across the past five seasons are the sixth-most in the NFL over that span, trailing only T.J. Watt, Myles Garrett, Trey Hendrickson, Nick Bosa and Micah Parsons. Reddick has recorded 15 forced fumbles since 2020 – the second-most in the NFL– including a league-leading 14 strip sacks across that time. The quick-twitch athlete adds another dimension to Todd Bowles' penetrating defensive line and has had several battles with right tackle Luke Goedeke. Goedeke's pop on initial contact has sparked ascension in Reddick.
"Man Luke is a tremendous talent," said Reddick. "We are going out there and battling everyday. Iron sharpens iron and it sounds cliché - I know everybody uses that a lot - but we are really out here battling. I love going up against him. He has really strong hands. I mean, if he gets his hands on you, it will be really hard to get them off you and I love to see that. For me, it is actually putting me against somebody that I have to work against which is going to make me better."
Chris Braswell Focused on Hand Placement
Chris Braswell played 329 snaps for the Bucs last season as he acclimated to the NFL. Braswell, the 57th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Alabama, added to the Bucs' rotation last year after he fielded a breakout year in 2023 for the Crimson Tide. Despite playing behind a loaded room at Alabama in Will Anderson Jr. and Dallas Turner, Braswell stayed loyal and stayed for the 2023 season, opting not to hit the transfer portal. He upped his draft stock and the Bucs' brass took notice. Braswell transfers speed to power with ease and has a variety of moves in his arsenal. In 2025, Braswell has emphasized becoming more multi-faceted, enhancing every aspect of his game including run defense and dropping into coverage, along with hand placement at the top of rushes.
"[I am] working on my hands more- my hands at the top of the rush and to make sure that I have that get off every single rush and obviously playing the run, just pretty much everything, dropping into coverage and pretty much anything that you could think of as far as an outside linebacker," noted Braswell. "I always try to improve each and everything when going back to the tape…I really feel a lot more comfortable, and I was able to digest the playbook and improve."
Offensive Expectation
Following a historical 2024 season for the Buccaneers' offense, the unit has high expectations for the encore in 2025 with primarily the same talented cast. With a new offensive coordinator in Josh Grizzard and the addition of first-round pick Emeka Egbuka and seventh-round steal Tez Johnson, new wrinkles have been added for the fall. In 2024, Tampa Bay's offense hit several milestones, placing the unit in the franchise's lore. The Bucs set new records in completion percentage, passer rating, yards per rush, rushing first downs, rushing yards and third-down conversion rate. Grizzard was in charge of strategizing for third-down situations during the week leading up to game days and every week the offense felt prepared and the results spoke for themselves. The Bucs led the NFL with a team-record 50.9% third-down conversion rate in 2024 and according to Goedeke, there are no parameters on the potential of the 2025 crew.
"We had a really good offense last year and we are looking to build off of that," described Goedeke. "The goal is to always be the best offense in the NFL and the National Football League. I think Grizz really brings some different nuances, whether it is presenting a different picture, different ideology on why we are calling this play and when, and what the defense is presenting and what we are working at on the play. I think he is a tremendously intelligent human being and I think he is only going to help take our offense to the next level…The sky is really the limit for this offense and as far as the offensive line, I think the sky is the limit and I feel very confident that we can be the best offensive line in the NFL."
