Buccaneers implement new scheme to build post-Tom Brady offense

Greg Auman

NFC South Reporter

Can the Bucs offense be an improved unit overall in 2023 despite losing Tom Brady to retirement?

That’s the goal this offseason, as Tampa Bay loses a legend at quarterback but is working to find a better product, thanks to a new offensive scheme under new coordinator Dave Canales and an improvement on the worst run game in the NFL.

“I think we obviously have a lot of potential to be explosive, but it’s just going to have to be about taking care of the ball,” said quarterback Baker Mayfield, competing with third-year pro Kyle Trask for the starting job. “I think we’re going to be able to get in different personnels and get into similar formations and run very different stuff out of those things. … I think everybody here will see the difference in the run game, and that truly is going to establish what this offense is about. I’m excited about that, and I know the guys up front are as well.”

Tampa Bay’s offense took a major step backward in 2022, with their scoring dropping by two touchdowns a game, the second-largest single-season dropoff in NFL history. Despite having Brady, the Bucs ranked 25th in the NFL in scoring, 21st on third downs and 22nd in red-zone efficiency.

The Bucs ranked second in the NFL in passing yards per game (270) last year, but they also ranked 24th in passing yards per attempt (6.11), the biggest disparity of any NFL team in at least the past decade. One strength moving forward might be greater use of pre-snap motion and shifting to keep defenses guessing more as to what’s coming their way.

“I would say it’s unpredictable,” Trask said. “You don’t know what you’re going to get. We can come at you in different ways, then throw it over the top of your head. You just never know. You saw the success they had in Seattle [with Canales] with that philosophy, and I think you add our weapons into that, we could be very dangerous. I’m really excited to see how this plays out in the fall.”

Tampa Bay ranked last in the league in 2022 in both yards per game and yards per carry, and released starter Leonard Fournette, who remains unsigned three months into free agency. They’ll feature second-year back Rachaad White but have made only modest additions behind him, signing veteran Chase Edmonds and undrafted rookie Sean Tucker, with fourth-year pro Ke’Shawn Vaughn also returning for depth.

Why does head coach Todd Bowles have confidence his team can be better running the ball this season?

“Just the chemistry starting out,” Bowles said Tuesday. “You want it to be different. I’ll be more confident once it’s happened in pads, but I see the cohesiveness coming together right now. That’s a plus for us.”

Neither Mayfield nor Trask would be described as dual-threat quarterbacks, but either would be more mobile than Brady was at age 45, so the offense can utilize more rollouts and launch points outside the pocket, with a greater chance of extending plays with scramble drills and the gains that can come with those.

For Canales as a coordinator and his quarterbacks, the Bucs benefit from having them go against an aggressive Bowles defense every day in practice, giving them multiple looks and pressure from all over the field.

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s Day 1 install or whatever, he’s going to pressure you,” Mayfield said. “It makes you think, it makes you have to prepare, that’s for sure. It makes you have to know where your hots and all your answers are. It’s great for us, because we see a very exotic defense with a bunch of different looks. They’re capable of bringing pressure from anywhere.”

Mayfield has a natural edge on Trask in his experience, with five years as an NFL starter, compared to Trask having nine career passes in two years almost exclusively as an inactive third quarterback. But as he said, limiting mistakes will be crucial to winning the starting job, and Mayfield has more interceptions in his five years in the league (64) than any other quarterback in that span.

Everyone is learning a new system this summer, learning new terminology and philosophy together, so there’s a bonding that comes with that. Mayfield has been to Tampa Bay Lightning games with teammates and was at a Rays game with tackle Tristan Wirfs and tight end Ko Kieft last week, wearing a Rays cap even though they were playing the Texas Rangers, who he grew up rooting for.

“I think, more than anything else, it’s going to be cool to see guys having a lot of fun out there,” receiver Chris Godwin said. “Mistakes are going to happen. … I think the biggest thing is trying to be as efficient as we can. If there’s a game that calls for us to take a bunch of shots downfield, I feel confident in our ability to do that. I like where we’re at. I like our ability to run the ball, and I’m really excited to see how that evolves.”

Greg Auman is FOX Sports’ NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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