Bucs Get Value On Ben Bredeson Despite Big Investment

The Bucs first announced move as the legal tampering period began on Monday was to retain the services of left guard Ben Bredeson on a three-year, $22 million contract. The terms were a little high in both duration and APY. By the end of the day, we all found out why.

The offensive line market has skyrocketed, with mid-tier players garnering incredibly high contracts.

Just a few examples include Dan Moore Jr. getting $82 million from the Titans despite being the type of player teams are constantly trying to replace. The Steelers in fact just attempted to do that last season.

Fellow tackle Jaylon Moore secured $30 million from Kansas City despite having less than 1,000 snaps played over four seasons. And Aaron Banks, who is a fine starting guard just got a deal that will make him the seventh-highest paid guard in the NFL.

And that’s where I think the case can be made that the Bucs got tremendous value on Bredeson. I’ll turn your attention to Brandon Thorn, who is an offensive line analyst for Bleacher Report and a voter for the Joe Moore Award handed out to the best offensive line in college football each year. He also has his own Substack called Trench Warfare where he writes about line play. It is there that we find an interesting nugget.

Bucs Get Bargain With Ben Bredeson Based On Brandon Thorn’s Analysis

Brandon Thorn listed his best offensive linemen available this offseason. Specifically looking at interior linemen, Aaron Banks ranked 13th, while Ben Bredeson ranked 14th. Here is what he had to say about each player.

Aaron Banks – 28

“Banks is a big body (6’5”, 325 lbs. With 33 1/8” arms) at left guard. He made 43 starts over his first four seasons, including 16, 14 and 13 over the last three years since becoming a full-time starter. Banks performed at a functional level last season but dealt with a rash of injuries that included a broken finger, concussion and MCL injury.

On film, Banks plays with an upright style and shows mediocre recovery skills that get him out-leveraged and leave him susceptible to clean losses in pass protection. Banks consistently looks for work when uncovered and uncorks on adjacent defenders to keep the pocket clear. He pairs solid initial quickness with heavy hands and a physical demeanor in the run game to get to his spots on time, cover up and wall off defenders.

However, he struggles to consistently sustain blocks late in the rep due to getting slipped. Banks is a functional option as a starting guard and could fill in as the fifth best starter on a good unit and potentially serve as the fourth best starter on a younger, less experienced group.”

Ben Bredeson – 27

“Bredeson is set to enter his sixth season after starting all but one game over the last two years at each of the three interior line spots for the Giants and Bucs, including a career-best year last season at left guard in Tampa Bay. Bredeson signed a year one-deal with the Bucs last off-season and capitalized on an outstanding situation playing alongside elite, All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs on one of the best units in the league.

Bredeson has a sawed off frame and middling pure power that exposes his frame, creates soft edges and a tardy anchor, but he has increasingly gotten better at working around his limitations as he’s gained starting experience.

Bredeson closes space on defenders and rushers quickly with tight, firm hand placement and grip strength to stay attached to blocks with very good effort and strain to finish. Considering his versatility and skill set, Bredeson should be able to earn another starting role as the fourth or fifth best starter somewhere this off-season and worst case settle in as a high-end swing interior backup.”

Now it should be noted that Thorn has the two guards in two different tiers, with Banks listed as the last of his tier-four players – “Solid/Average Starters” – and Bredeson as the first player in tier five which denotes “Adequate/Below Average Starter/Quality Backup.”

That means there is a bit more nuance to the evaluation than just one spot off and $11.75 million per year difference. But it stands to reason that the difference in the two tiers is not that significant.

The Bucs have Bredeson for $12.5 million guaranteed, suggesting that if they want to move on from him in 2026, it will cost them somewhere in the neighborhood of $6 million. The Packers, who signed Banks, will have a significantly harder time trying to do the same if Banks doesn’t work out.

All that to say the Bucs got better return on investment, with significantly more flexibility, all for perhaps a slightly lesser player. Yet a player that fit in exceptionally well in last year’s offensive line in Tampa Bay.

That’s a smart move in a free agent market full of not-so-smart decisions.