Just because Chris Braswell doesn’t have value to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers anymore, it doesn’t mean he won’t have value to someone else.
Pro Football Focus NFL reporter Bradley Locker put the 6-foot-3, 255-pound edge rusher and 2024 2nd-round pick (No. 57 overall) on his list of the NFL’s top trade candidates ahead of training camp.
“The Buccaneers landed upgrades to their defensive line this offseason, but those new faces may block Braswell from seeing meaningful playing time,” Locker wrote. “A second-round pick in 2024, Braswell has demonstrated sound pass-rush acumen by producing 35 pressures on 322 pass-rushing snaps in his career. His underlying efficiency has also been good, reaching a 16.8% pass-rush win rate last year. However, he hasn’t been the same level against the run after earning a sub-60.0 grade in that category twice.”
Braswell’s fate in Tampa Bay might have been sealed in the 1st round of the 2026 NFL draft, when superstar Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. dropped to the Buccaneers with the No. 15 overall pick.
Patience With Chris Braswell Runs Out for Bucs
The Buccaneers have given Braswell plenty of chances over the last 2 seasons — he’s played in all 34 regular-season games in a time his team has been desperate to find competent edge rushers.
Braswell only has 2.5 career sacks, and seemed to take a step back in his sophomore season, going from 8 QB hits as a rookie in 2024 to just 4 in 2025.
“The roster is full of homegrown players, but with far less success,” ESPN’s Ben Solak wrote before the NFL draft. “Chris Braswell was a miss at pass rusher and Yaya Diaby is only a strong rotational player, leaving the Bucs without a ringer of a pass rusher. They didn’t get involved on Maxx Crosby or Trey Hendrickson but now suddenly need a splashy sack artist at No. 15.”
Bucs Might Have Elite Edge Rusher Trio
Calling Diaby a rotational pass rusher seems a bit unfair. He’s led the Buccaneers in sacks twice in his 1st 3 seasons and has 19.0 career sacks headed into the final year of his 4-year, $5.4 million rookie contract in 2026.
The Buccaneers also signed 6-foot-3, 250-pound edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad to a 1-year, $4 million free-agent contract after he racked up 11.0 sacks for the Detroit Lions in 2025.
Diaby, Bain, and Muhammad could very well combine to form 1 of the NFL’s elite edge rusher trios. Including Bain’s 9.5 sacks at Miami, they totaled 28.0 sacks in 2025.
Muhammad’s age — he turned 31 years old in March — is probably the biggest reason the Buccaneers got such a steal.
“The Bucs got their hands on a double-digit sack edge rusher in Muhammad (11 sacks last season) and the most they’ll pay for it, with incentives, is $6 million on a one-year deal,” ESPN’s Jenna Laine wrote. “They spent $14 million on Haason Reddick one year ago, and he had 2.5 sacks in 2025. The difference in price tag is Reddick had four straight double-digit sack years before an off year in 2024, while Muhammad is vying to prove it was no fluke for him to finally reach that milestone in Year 8 of his career.”
Bucs’ 6-foot-3, 255-Pound Draft Bust Called NFL’s ‘Top Trade Candidate’