The Tampa Bay Buccaneers season is quickly spiraling out of control, but with the NFC South being a mess in 2022 they are still favorites to win the division. That is why there is a good chance the team swings a deal or two to try and pull their season back from the brink of disaster.
On Thursday night, the Bucs suffered a third straight loss — this time to the Baltimore Ravens — and saw their record drop to 3-5 on the season. For some organizations that might be a reason to ponder being sellers at the Nov. 1 NFL trade deadline. However, that will not be the case for Tampa Bay.
With Tom Brady on the team and likely playing out the final year of his career, the Bucs are all in on trying to salvage this season and will worry about the future later. That is why there is a strong possibility the team could make a move in the next week to try and turn things around and save this season.
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With that in mind, let’s take a look at some players the team could target in the hopes of plugging up some weaknesses they currently have.
David Montgomery, running back
The Chicago Bears have salvaged their season after their win on Monday night. However, with Khalil Herbert having a strong season so far, running back David Mongomery is expendable just two years removed from a 1,000+ yard rushing performance.
The Buccaneers’ rushing attack has been terrible in 2022 and ranks dead last at 61.9 yards per game. Montgomery isn’t a perennial Pro Bowler, but he has rushed for, or near, 1,000 yards every year despite being on poor teams. He would certainly be an upgrade over Leonard Fournette, and could likely be had at an affordable rate with him set to be a free agent in the spring.
Melvin Gordon III, running back
The Denver Broncos have been a mess this season, and if they lose in London on Sunday they could be big-time sellers before the trade deadline. That is why the Buccaneers getting Broncos brass on the phone and inquiring about Melvin Gordon III would be a smart move.
The two-time Pro Bowler might not be at his peak level in his eighth season in the league, however, he is still a legitimate dual threat and could forge a stronger backfield by turning Fournette into a platoon talent instead of the team’s primary rusher.
Bradley Chubb, linebacker
The Buccaneers got more bad news following their loss on Thursday, and that is off defensive anchor Shaquil Barrett being out for the season with a torn Achilles. That is a major hole the organization needs to plug up, and the Broncos also have a player on defense that could help with that.
Quite a few Denver stars have been speculated to be on the move this week, one of them is one-time Pro Bowler Bradley Chubb. The five-year veteran offers a very similar skill set to Barrett and helps the defense maintain what has been a solid level of play this season. Not addressing this need could further plunge the team down the standings.
Kareem Hunt, running back
Cleveland Browns running back Kareem Hunt has become an afterthought because of the continued excellence of Nick Chubb. Which makes him expendable. Especially, since it seems like the Browns could be out of the playoff chase before Deshaun Watson returns from his suspension anyway.
It would be worth it for Tampa Bay to try and land Hunt in the hopes of recapturing his Pro Bowl excellence from 2017. When he ran for over 1,300 yards, gained another 455 threw the air and 11 total touchdowns.
Jarvis Landry
It looks like it could be a lost season for the New Orleans Saints after dropping to 2-5 after a Thursday night defeat to the Arizona Cardinals. It likely means the team starts to move a few expandable talents with value so they can gain some draft capital for next April. One of those players could be wideout Jarvis Landry.
The former Dolphins and Browns star was a late offseason free-agent addition and has not risen beyond a WR3 with Michael Thomas healthy and rookie Chris Olave off to a strong start. While Landry isn’t the player that earned five trips to the Pro Bowl anymore, he is still a threat in the passing game and could fill the need left by Cole Beasley following his retirement.