Oft-Injured Linebacker Called ‘X Factor’ for Buccaneers in 2025

If Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker SirVocea Dennis is looking for motivation for the upcoming season, he just needs to lock in his own position meetings.

For a player who has yet to make his first career start, Dennis has found himself in the middle of quite a few discussions this offseason as to how he fits into the overall trajectory of his team’s defense in 2025. It’s a team that also had so little faith in Dennis’ ability to stay healthy they brought in free agent Anthony Walker Jr. on a 1-year, $1.42 million contract.

Still, talent wins out. And Dennis has plenty of it. Enough talent that ESPN’s Mina Kimes called him the “X-Factor” for Tampa Bay’s entire roster in 2025 as they try to make the playoffs for a sixth consecutive season.

“I’m going to go full hipster pick here,” Kimes said on “The Mina Kimes Show” on June 4. “I’m going to go with SirVocea Dennis … and the reason I’m going with Dennis is (the Buccaneers) didn’t a lot to that off-ball linebacker room during the offseason. They added Anthony Walker Jr., which I thought was surprising because they were one of the worst teams in the NFL at defending the middle of the field, and especially after SirVocea Dennis got hurt.”

That means the Buccaneers were bad at defending the field for most of the season — Dennis only played 4 games in 2024 and has missed 17 games due to injuries over his first 2 seasons.

Dennis Starred at Pitt Alongside First Round Pick

One cool aspect were Dennis to ever find his footing in the NFL — and on the Buccaneers — would be the success he might have playing alongside his college teammate and 2023 first round pick Calijah Kancey.

Kancey, an interior defensive lineman, was the No. 19 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft after both he and Dennis were All-ACC picks at Pitt in 2021 and 2022. Dennis was taken in the same draft by the Buccaneers in the fifth round (No. 153 overall).

As a rookie, Dennis played in 13 games and mostly on special teams. In 2024, he was off to a promising start with 21 tackles through the first 4 games before a shoulder injury that required surgery ended his season.

Bowles Singles Dennis Out For Shining at OTAs

Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowls singled Dennis out for looking sharp during the start of OTAs in 2025, calling him the “standout” player from the first week of workouts.

“He gets his hands on a lot of balls and I want to say [he has had] a very good four days and that does not mean anything in the grand scheme of things, but I like where he is at right now,” Bowles told Buccaneers.com’s Brianna Dix on June 3. “Right now, he is in the best shape he has been in since he’s been here.”

Starter or not, the best thing for Tampa Bay’s defense would likely be a 3-linebacker rotation at the 2 inside spots between Lavonte David, Walker and Dennis to keep their legs fresh. Don’t forget David is 35 years old and entering his 14th NFL season.