Bruce Arians adds to Buccaneers Super Bowl hype following solid offseason

Earlier this spring, Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David insisted that the squad that suffered a 23-20 wild-card playoff loss to the Washington Commanders this past January "had the guys" needed to make a run all the way to Super Bowl LIX. 

During a Tuesday morning appearance on Tampa sports radio station WDAE, Buccaneers senior advisor Bruce Arians was asked if he feels the club is "pretty close" to once again playing in the final game of a postseason tournament. 

"I don’t think there’s any doubt," Arians responded, as shared by the JoeBucsFan website. "We just got to stay healthy. You know, we had all those injuries in the same position last year at defensive back. But if we stay healthy, I don’t think there’s any doubt the sky’s the limit for this football team. I mean, we got great camaraderie. It’s great energy in that building. And guys are really pulling for each other. So yeah, I think this is going to be a great year."

In April, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times noted that Rotowire stats show the Buccaneers tied for seventh in the NFL last season in games missed due to injury with 201. Nevertheless, Tampa Bay won the NFC South title with a record of 10-7, and the Bucs led the Commanders with roughly 12 minutes remaining in regulation of the playoff contest before a botched exchange gave the visitors momentum.

More recently, the Buccaneers addressed arguably their biggest defensive need when they signed pass-rusher Haason Reddick in free agency. Tampa Bay also re-signed wide receiver Chris Godwin to keep its offensive core together before the club acquired Ohio State playmaker Emeka Egbuka with the 19th overall pick in the 2025 draft. 

Additionally, it doesn't hurt that Tampa Bay's Baker Mayfield is, on paper, the best starting quarterback in a division that is on track to feature Bryce Young of the Carolina Panthers, Michael Penix Jr. of the Atlanta Falcons and Tyler Shough of the New Orleans Saints as QB1s. 

As of Tuesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Buccaneers as +100 betting favorites to claim the division title for the upcoming campaign. Such forecasts indicate Tampa Bay could be a team NFC opponents hope to avoid in January