Biggest takeaway At the very least, the Bucs will face three rookie quarterbacks in Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson, who were drafted No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 overall in the 2023 NFL draft. But that number could grow should Will Levis overtake Ryan Tannehill with the Tennessee Titans or Hendon Hooker takes over for the Detroit Lions, which is unlikely given Lions coach Dan Campbell said it would be a "long time" before Hooker starts. Prior to last season, coach Todd Bowles held a 6-1 record against rookie quarterbacks as defensive coordinator or head coach of the Buccaneers. But in 2022, the Bucs lost to Kenny Pickett, Brock Purdy and Desmond Ridder, although the loss to Ridder came in the final regular-season game, when they rested the majority of their starters after the first half. They were one of four teams to lose multiple games to rookie starters. Tampa Bay Buccaneers schedule 2023: Takeaways, predictions
Schedule Sept. 10 at Minnesota Sept. 17 vs. Chicago Sept. 25 vs. Philadelphia Oct. 1 at New Orleans Oct. 8 BYE Oct. 15 vs. Detroit Oct. 22 vs. Atlanta Oct. 26 at Buffalo Nov. 12 vs. Tennessee Nov. 19 at San Francisco Nov. 26 at Indianapolis Dec. 3 vs. Carolina Dec. 10 at Atlanta Dec. 17 at Green Bay Dec. 24 vs. Jacksonville Dec. 31 vs. New Orleans Week 18: TBD at Carolina
Revenge game We don't know if Baker Mayfield will win the starting quarterback job over Kyle Trask, but given his experience, he should. Which makes those two games against the Carolina Panthers intriguing. Maybe not as intriguing as Mayfield opening the season against the Cleveland Browns last year as a member of the Panthers, but it's certainly a motivating factor as he tries to get his career back on track. Bold prediction Is it really 'bold' if the Bucs do as most expect? Tampa Bay will struggle early on without Brady while adjusting to a new offense, a remade offensive line and a new secondary.
From ESPN: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Who starts? On one hand, it's understandable not to want to anoint a Tom Brady successor and weigh down a guy with that kind of pressure. On the other hand, this is a team that has made the playoffs three years in a row and the camp battle for starting QB is between Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask. That's not overly exciting, nor is it likely to make Tampa Bay a strong contender to unseat the Eagles as NFC champs. I think it's fair to expect Mayfield to win this competition. But I also think it's fair, if the Bucs do a lot of losing over the first half of the season, to expect them to be active at the trade deadline with an eye toward college prospects Caleb Williams or Drake Maye as their starter for 2024 and beyond.
Ugh. Of course they had to make Jags-Bucs Christmas Eve. "Hey, honey. I'm just going out for milk. I'll be back in 4 hours."
