Buccaneers very well could make huge move before trade deadline
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have surprised many with their stellar performance through the first half of the NFL season. For those that have followed the team closely, though, the Bucs' success in 2025 has been a little more predictable.
Bucs' GM Jason Licht has done a wonderful job assembling talented players at many of the key positions over the last several years. Not only that, but he has struck a lovely balance between proven veterans and talented rookies.
With Baker Mayfield playing the best football of his NFL career, all of those pieces have fallen into place. And even with a barrage of injuries to star players, the depth the Buccaneers have consistently accumulated with Licht at the helm has allowed the team to weather that storm, and jump out to an impressive 6-2 record heading into their Week 9 bye.
Just as many who knew the ins and outs of the Bucs' roster heading into this season haven't been surprised by Tampa Bay's early success, those same people should not be surprised by the team's most glaring weakness — the inside linebacker position.
Although Lavonte David has been a reliable leader and steady performer in the middle of the Bucs' defense, he can't do it all himself. Especially at 35 years of age.
Last offseason, many were clamoring for Jason Licht to select a linebacker in the draft, or at the very least, sign one in free agency. But Licht opted to do neither. Instead, with the support of his head coach, Todd Bowles, Licht decided to stand pat, ultimately expressing his confidence in 3rd year player, SirVocea Dennis, who had just 25 career tackles and had missed more games due to injury than he played in over the course of his first couple of seasons in the NFL.
Bucs' LB's struggling in pass coverage
The early returns on Dennis have not been good. Although he's been steadily improving as a run defender and blitzer as the season has progressed, Dennis' innability to execute in coverage has been a massive liability for the Buccaneers this season.
Of 70 inside linebackers graded by PFF, Dennis ranks dead last in coverage, with an outrageous grade of 29.1
Lavonte David, as solid as he is, has been performing below his usual standards in coverage as well. His 47.7 PFF grade in this area is 47th worst among all linebackers so far in 2025.
Intriguing trade option
Near the midway point of the season, the best option for the Buccaneers to improve their vulnerability at linebacker is simple... make a trade. Although there aren't any star linebackers openly available on the trade market, there is one player who stands out as a potential fit
In a recent article for ESPN, NFL analyst Ben Solak dove into this very topic. In doing so, he identified a player he sees as the ideal trade target for the Bucs in Miami Dolphins' veteran LB, Jordyn Brooks.
"The biggest weak spot on a young and exciting defense is LB2, where SirVocea Dennis has struggled opposite Lavonte David." Solak wrote. "The Buccaneers don't tend to aggressively pursue talent at the deadline, but GM Jason Licht could become emboldened by a weak NFC and a Super Bowl-ready offense. Brooks is one of the best players, regardless of position, who could be available."
Brooks was a first round pick (27th overall) by the Seahawks back in 2020. He is a steady tackler, a solid pass rusher, and a clear upgrade in coverage compared to what SirVocea Dennis is currently providing.
With the 2-6 Dolphins collapsing before our eyes, it would be wise for Miami to consider recouping some value draft capital to make up for the inevitible disappointment that is expected to ensue from a season that has already been labelled a disaster.
Whether or not Bucs' GM Jason Licht's confidence in his young linebacker, SirVocea Dennis, has wavered since the offseason is unclear. But even if he still believes in Dennis, it would b e in his team's best interest to consider any and all options to improve the position.
It's hard to envision a player better suited for this scenario than Miami Dolphins' LB, Jordyn Brooks.
Unfortunate reality might be setting in for Harrison Brunicke
The Pittsburgh Penguins dropped their Saturday matinee to the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 in which they started slow and could never recover in time. But there was more than just a slow start and a defeat to one of the Western Conference's best teams, that was a tough pill to swallow.
The Penguins will have to make a tough decision soon on if they should send 19-year-old defenseman Harrison Brunicke back to his junior team or keep him in the NHL. But after Saturday's game, it feels like that decision might have been made already.
In the contest, Brunicke just generally looked lost in his own zone and was the direct cause of the Jets second goal of the game which came early in the first period. Brunicke was doing his best to block a cross-crease pass and did not get his stick down in time. So, Jets forward Brad Lambert had a backdoor tap-in to make it 2-0 Jets early in the first.
Defenseman like Brunicke are going to want to do everything they can to get their sticks down and in position to block the cross-crease pass. Brunicke did not and the result showed. He also did not have inside positioning on Lambert so Lambert was able to box him out and score the goal.
It definitely seems like with the way head coach Dan Muse has been scratching Brunicke and playing him every now and then, that sending him back to his junior team is becoming inevitable. That kind of load management does not bode well for his chances of staying with the Penguins.
It might be ideal for him to get one more year in juniors and then be fully ready next season. That is for Muse and general manager Kyle Dubas to decide, but the answer seems like it might be in the cards for Brunicke.
