In our new summer series, we’ll take a look at several topics surrounding the Bucks this coming season and explore them from a unique perspective.
The next topic is what would happen if the Buccaneers win the Super Bowl in 2024.
Inspired by Marvel’s “What If…?” comics and the Marvel animated series, let’s take a look at some different possible outcomes for an intriguing Tampa Bay storyline that no one could have predicted. To be clear, this is not a topical series that The Pewter Report believes or expects to happen. Tampa Bay fans, use your imagination and prepare for surprises.
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Buccaneers QB Tom Brady – Photo courtesy of USA Today
When Tom Brady retired from the NFL after finishing the 2022 season with an 8-9 record and a humiliating 31-14 playoff loss at home to the Cowboys, many national media pundits believed or even suggested that general manager Jason Licht and head coach Todd Bowles would flip the rebuild switch and dismantle the team. Tampa Bay enjoyed three excellent years under Brady, winning a Super Bowl in 2020 and two division titles the following two seasons.
But with Brady gone and former second-round draft pick Kyle Trask not ready to take over the starting quarterback duties, some called for the Buccaneers to dismantle their roster and start trading their best players so Richt could stockpile draft picks and go into rebuild mode. But Richt and Bowles opted to retool rather than rebuild.
Still loaded with Pro Bowl-caliber talent, the Buccaneers signed quarterback Baker Mayfield to a cheap, one-year, prove-it deal in hopes of acquiring the talent they had as the No. 1 overall pick in 2018. It wasn’t the same journeyman quarterback who was traded to Carolina for the 2022 season, then waived and picked up by the Los Angeles Rams.
Mayfield provided the impetus the offense needed, throwing for the best year of his career with 4,044 yards, 28 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions. It was the bounce-back year he needed to turn his career around, leading Tampa Bay to a 9-8 record, repeating the NFC South title and advancing to the NFC Divisional Round in the playoffs, where they beat the Eagles 32-9 at home.
Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield and K Chase McLaughlin – Photo: Cliff Welch/PR
After a disappointing 3-1 start, the team then lost six of their final seven games, but bounced back and won five of their final six games of the season thanks to Bowles’ unwavering belief in his players. Tampa Bay won six of their final eight games, including the postseason, and Richt and Bowles rode their late-season momentum by re-signing all of the team’s top free agents, including Mayfield, Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Evans, All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr., legendary linebacker Lavonte David and ace kicker Chase McLaughlin.
Licht and the personnel department have used three outstanding drafts thus far to fill the Buccaneers’ salary cap with cheap, young, starting-caliber talent to help them recover from their last Super Bowl performance. This up-and-coming talent is expected to help Tampa Bay improve after their strong late-season performance last year and help them reach double-digit wins and win the NFC South for the fourth straight year.
In 2023, Tampa Bay was two wins away from reaching the Super Bowl after losing 31-23 at Detroit, and it’s not inconceivable that a strengthened Buccaneers could beat the Lions or even the 49ers to reach the Super Bowl this season.
So what happens when Tampa Bay faces a powerhouse like Kansas City? We all know Bowles and his defense have shut down Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense in the Super Bowl before. And the Buccaneers have won Super Bowls with veteran free-agent quarterbacks like Brad Johnson in 2002 and Brady in 2020. Maybe Mayfield will be the third such quarterback in Tampa Bay lore.
What if the Buccaneers win the Super Bowl in 2024?
Buccaneers co-chairman Darcy Glaser-Kassewitz, assistant GM Mike Greenberg and GM Jason Licht – Photo: Cliff Welch/PR
Tampa Bay is a dark horse candidate for this year’s Super Bowl, with most national media pundits projecting Atlanta to win the division thanks to the addition of veteran Pro Bowl quarterback Kirk Cousins.
But the last time the Buccaneers won the Super Bowl, they didn’t even win their division and had to win three straight playoff games on the road as a wild card team in 2020. So what if the Buccaneers surprise the NFL this year and win the Super Bowl, whether as a division champion or a wild card team?
What’s next for this franchise?
A Super Bowl win could send shock waves throughout the franchise on a number of levels. Starting at the top, general manager Jason Licht could take over as team president after entering his 11th season with the franchise and winning two Super Bowl championships.
Sensing that NFL teams want a piece of the Buccaneers’ firepower, Licht knows his front office will finally be raided in the offseason of 2025. For whatever reason, other teams weren’t interested in bringing in some of his top personnel executives, so Tampa Bay’s scouting department remained intact and ended up producing three mega draft classes.
With Licht’s promotion to team president, team strategist and capacity expert Mike Greenberg will be promoted from assistant general manager to general manager. Licht will continue to be involved in personnel, which is his area of expertise, but Greenberg will have a new title and promotion.
Buccaneers Director of Player Personnel Rob McCartney and Mike Beal – Photo: Cliff Welch/PR
The team’s other assistant GM, John Spytek, was hired as the general manager of another team and will run another team, a move that was long overdue as Spytek is one of the best talent evaluators and personnel managers in the NFL.
Licht and Greenberg promoted director of player personnel Rob McCartney and vice president of football research Jackie Davidson to assistant general managers. McCartney will take over from Spytech as the organization’s top personnel official behind Licht, while Davidson will continue to work with Greenberg and Licht, advising them on salary cap and team strategy.
Mike Beal, the Buccaneers’ director of player personnel and oversees college scouting, will also be poached to become general manager in the 2025 offseason. Byron Keefer, the team’s senior personnel director and longtime Buccaneers player, will be promoted to director of college scouting and will oversee college scouting due to his background in that field and as a college scout.
In a shocking move, Bucks head coach Todd Bowles He retired at the top of his game at age 61. He finished his four-year tenure as head coach with Tampa Bay with a winning record, making him the only head coach in franchise history to reach the playoffs in every year he led the team.
Licht and Greenberg promoted offensive coordinator Liam Cohen to head coach and will continue to work with Baker Mayfield, while co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach Larry Foote will replace Bowles as defensive play-caller. Defensive line coach Casey Rogers will remain as co-defensive coordinator.
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles and co-director Larry Foote – Photo: Cliff Welch/PR
There will also be some notable roster changes following the Buccaneers’ third Super Bowl victory. Linebacker and team captain Lavonte David will retire at age 35 as a two-time Super Bowl champion and Hall of Fame candidate, putting him ahead of the likes of Bobby Wagner and Luke Kuechly. David and longtime defensive tackle Will Gholston will retire as part of a small group of two-time Super Bowl champions with Tampa Bay.
The Buccaneers signed wide receiver Chris Godwin to a new two-year contract that is very similar to the one they gave Mike Evans in the 2024 offseason. As expected, Godwin thrived as the slot receiver in Cohen’s offense, with Godwin and Evans both surpassing 1,000 yards each for four straight seasons.
Re-signing Godwin would give Mayfield two top targets in the passing game as the Buccaneers look to defend their Super Bowl title in 2025. How about a happy ending for 2024?
Other articles in Scott Reynolds’ “What If?” summer series:
What would have happened if Joe Tryon Soyinka had led the Buccaneers in sacks?
What if the Bucks wore orange pants for the Creamsicle game?
What happens if Mike Evans doesn’t get 1,000 yards this season?
What if Bucky Irving was better than Rachard White?
