Tampa Bay Buccaneers edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad did not mince words or stutter when he declared the Bucs outside linebacker room ‘stacked.’ Muhammad said that the combination of depth and talent and the group focusing on pushing each other will make them one of the best rooms in the NFL.
This can come off as typical offseason talk, but it is clear that Muhammad is repeating the message that is being relayed throughout the room. They believe the group is talented enough to take over games, and they are putting it on themselves to be the ones who set those expectations.
Yaya Diaby had a similar quote at a recent OTA practice. He asked how teams can prepare for every rusher that the Bucs have. The mission will be too hard.
Muhammad was quick to throw praise at Diaby as well. He said that the edge rusher is ‘built like a machine‘ and praised him for being the veteran in the room with experience in the defense.
Muhammad also praised rookie first-round pick Ruben Bain for his urgency. Muhammad seems to think that between Diaby, Bain, and himself, the group should be highly effective.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Edge Rushers Are Setting High Expectations
GettyAl-Quadin Muhammad signed with Tampa Bay.
Muhammad has mostly been a rotational pass rusher through his career. He is entering his ninth season in the NFL, but has just 36 career starts. He came in as a third rusher for the Lions last season but ended up second on the team in pressures and sacks behind only Aidan Hutchinson.
Still, in the first seven seasons, Muhammad had 15 sacks. Then, he had a career-high 11 sacks in 2025. There is a good reason to believe that he can continue to be a solid third rusher, but he might not get back to the stats of 2026.
That might not be an issue for the Bucs, though. Diaby is the leader of the group and is returning for his fourth NFL season. He had 7.5 sacks as a rookie, and while he dipped down to 4.5 sacks in his second season, he jumped back to seven sacks again last year. The good news is that Diaby hardly had anyone rushing across from him with the talent that Muhammad has. Even better is that Muhammad should be the third rusher behind Bain.
Bain is a rookie, so you never know what to expect. However, he was one of the more impactful players in all of college football last season. The thought is that he can be an upgrade from what they had last year. If they have two notable upgrades in the room, there is a good reason to think that they can carry the defense.
Bucs Defense Needs to Bounce Back in 2026
The Bucs defense was not nearly as impactful in 2025 as they were in 2024, and it caused the team to collapse and miss the playoffs. Tampa Bay added to all three levels of the defense to ensure that head coach Todd Bowles does not oversee another struggling unit.
If the Bucs defense is not a top-tier group next year, it will spell trouble for Bowles.
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