One of the big turnarounds for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2023 to 2024 — and a huge reason the franchise is in the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season — is their revamped offensive line.
While the group is built around arguably the NFL’s very best offensive lineman in left offensive tackle in NFL All-Pro Tristan Wirfs, the players surrounding Wirfs and helping lift the NFL’s No. 3 offense have proven to be just as valuable to winning games.
They’ll also be valuable commodities to other teams in dire need of offensive line help.
ESPN’s Benjamin Solak predicts offensive guard and 17-game starter Ben Bredeson may have already parlayed his 1-year, $3 million contract with the Buccaneers into another new deal in 2025, this time landing in the NFC West with the Seattle Seahawks.
“With his seat getting hotter in the post Pete Carroll-era, general manager John Schneider will buck his career trends and start investing heavily in the offensive line,” Solak wrote. “The Seahawks will spend on Ben Bredeson and James Daniels to secure their guard spots and add Mekhi Becton to potentially kick back out to tackle. I’m not sure it will actually work, but they’ll start spending, for sure.”
Bredeson, 6-foot-5 and 316 pounds, is also only 26 years old, meaning he’s still got some of his best football ahead of him.
Big Ten Star Develops Into Full-Time NFL Starter
Bredeson was one of the nation’s top offensive line recruits coming out of Arrowhead High School in Hartland, Wisconsin, before becoming a 3-time All-Big Ten pick and All-American at the University of Michigan.
The Baltimore Ravens drafted Bredeson in the fourth round (No. 143 overall) in the 2020 NFL draft before trading him to the New York Giants after 1 season. Bredeson became a full-time starter for the Giants in 2023 before starting every game for the Buccaneers in 2024.
Over the past 2 seasons with the Giants and Buccaneers, Bredeson has made 33 of his 42 career starts.
Buccaneers Used Offense to Make Playoff Push
While the Buccaneers got some decent performances from their defense late in the season, the reason they’re in the playoffs again and won a fourth consecutive NFC South Division title is because of the offense.
While getting a career year from quarterback Baker Mayfield has been the most important part of the puzzle, after spending the last 2 seasons as the NFL’s worst rushing offense the Buccaneers shot up to No. 4 in the NFL in 2024 with an average of 149.2 rushing yards per game.
Wirfs and Bredeson, who are both in their fifth seasons, have been the elder statesmen on a group that includes a rookie starter at center in 2024 first round pick Graham Barton, a second year player at the other guard in Cody Mauch and a third year player at right offensive tackle with Luke Goedeke.
The Buccaneers now face their biggest test of the season with an NFC Wild Card Game at home against the Washington Commanders on January 12. The Commanders and Buccaneers played each other in the 2024 regular-season opener in Tampa Bay, with the Buccaneers coming out with a 37-20 victory on September 8.
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