The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have one of the NFL’s worst defenses yet, somehow, are still in the thick of the playoff hunt with a 5-6 record headed into a Week 13 road game against the Carolina Panthers.
That they’ve done that without an elite edge rusher speaks more to how great the offense and quarterback Baker Mayfield has played more than anything else — adding someone at that position in 2025 could be the key to future success.
Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder thinks the remedy might come when the Buccaneers pursue Los Angeles Chargers edge rusher Khalil Mack in free agency following the season, bringing the 6-time NFL All-Pro and 2016 NFL Defensive Player to Tampa Bay — likely on a 1-year contract.
“Tampa’s defense could use pass-rushing help right now, and the need could grow in the coming months — Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Anthony Nelson are both impending 2025 free agents,” Holder wrote. “While the Buccaneers have skewed younger over the last couple of years, they’d be wise to take a flier on veteran pass-rusher Khalil Mack. The 33-year-old continues to be a capable situational edge-rusher and could provide a leadership presence in the locker room.”
Mack is in the final season of a 6-year, $141 million contract extension he signed with the Chicago Bears in 2018, which made him the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history at the time.
Mack Likely to End Up in Pro Football Hall of Fame
Now in his 11th season, Mack seems like a surefire Pro Football Hall of Famer who has done everything an NFL player can do — except for win a Super Bowl.
If he continues to play, that would likely be motivating factor.
After being named the MAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2013 at the University of Buffalo, Mack was taken No. 5 overall by the Oakland Raiders in the 2014 NFL draft and spent his first 4 seasons there before forcing a trade to the Bears in 2018.
Mack played 4 seasons in Chicago before he was traded to the Chargers before the 2022 season and had one of the best years of his career in 2023, starting all 17 games and finishing with a career high 17.0 sacks.
Mack is a 5-time NFL All-Pro and an 8-time Pro Bowler. He was also named to the NFL’s 2010s All-Decade Team and his 106.0 career sacks have him at No. 46 on the NFL’s list for the Top 50 in career sacks. After the 2024 season, he’ll also have accumulated $169.5 million in career earnings.
Where Mack has fallen woefully short is the postseason. He is 0-4 in 4 career postseason games and has never advanced past the Wild Card Round.
In 2024, he’s been his usual, productive self with 4.5 sacks in 10 games.
Buccaneers Interior Defensive Line Shines
It wouldn’t be hard to imagine an edge rusher like Mack taking the Buccaneers’ defense to a new level — their interior defensive line is playing better than almost any one in the NFL right now.
Defensive tackles Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey have been dominant in 2024. Vea leads the Buccaneers with 6.0 sacks and Kancey is second on the team with 5.0 sacks.
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