Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker SirVocea Dennis went from a 16-game starter and a player who played 910 snaps in 2025 to the biggest candidate to be a bust in 2026. Moe Moton of Bleacher Report noted that a deeper linebacker room is going to make 2026 a much worse year for the fourth-year player.
“SirVocea Dennis could lose one of the starting inside linebacker jobs before Week 1,” Moton wrote.
The Bucs made an effort to replace Dennis this year and make sure he does not see the field much.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Do Not Need SirVocea Dennis in 2026
GettyTampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker SirVocea Dennis.
Tampa Bay added three linebackers who could all start next year. The team primarily runs only two linebacker sets, so the odds of Dennis seeing the field are low, barring an injury. He will hardly get the chance to compete for a spot this summer.
The Bucs signed Alex Anzalone from the Detroit Lions. Anzalone has started the past five years for the Lions. While he is not viewed as a far-above-average starter, that type of experience is trusted. Dennis only has one year of starting, and it did not go well.
They also signed Christian Rozeboom from the Carolina Panthers. Rozeboom became a starter for the Los Angeles Rams in 2023 and started all of 2024 for the team before being a full-time starter for Carolina last year. Between the Rams and Panthers, Rozeboom has played in four playoff games in the past three years and has started at least one in the past three.
Those two could have been enough to push out Dennis, but Tampa Bay also drafted Josiah Trotter in the second round.
The pick was made high enough that they expect him to get on the field as a rookie. They see more upside and long-term ability with Trotter than the two veterans. So, even Anzalone and Rozeboom, who have been solidified starters with playoff experience, are going to be fighting to see the field. That does not signal well for Dennis.
Buccaneers Plan to Bench SirVocea Dennis
Dennis was a former fifth-round pick, so it is not a big miss if he does not turn into a starter. He got to sit and learn for two years and was given a chance after his development set in. However, he proved that the role might have been too big for him.
Dennis was the second-lowest-graded linebacker in coverage, per PFF. Anzalone, in particular, was signed because he can perform well in coverage.
Now that the team has three options to fill the two starting spots ahead of Dennis, the team is not incentivized to see him on the field. Dennis is entering the last year of his rookie salary. They do not see him as a core special-teams asset, so it would be hard for them to justify extending him.
Considering this will be his last year on the team, his development or potential is no longer important to the team. So, they can push him to the side, and if he surprises them, that is great. However, he is no longer worth their time commitment. The odds are he sits on the bench for one year and signs elsewhere in free agency.
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