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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers need help wherever they can get it on defense — there is no level on that side of the ball that can say they don’t need reinforcements.
On the defensive front, that’s especially pronounced because, while the Buccaneers have a star in nose tackle Vita Vea, they are solely lacking in depth. For any NFL defensive front, the ability to cycle players in and out to rush the passer is key to success, of which the Buccaneers have had little of on defense in 2024.
Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder thinks the Buccaneers should “kick the tires” on signing 9-year veteran defensive tackle Adam Gotsis for the final 4 games of the season to give them a lift as they attempt to make the NFC playoffs for the fifth straight season.
“The Buccaneers could use some help on the interior defensive line outside of Vita Vea, especially against the run,” Holder wrote on December 2. “Gotsis could be a potential solution to that problem and would be a good addition to make a late-season playoff push.”
The Buccaneers are 6-6 after 2 consecutive wins and have pulled into a tie for first place in the NFC South Division headed into a Week 14 home game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
From Down Under to the ACC to the NFL
Gotsis’ path to the NFL is one of the more unusual you’ll ever come across for a player outside of kickers and punters.
Gotsis was born in Australia and grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Abbotsford playing Australian rules football. When his mother could tell he was losing interest in the sport, he went online and found a local American football club for he and his brother to join.
Gotsis played American football — a club sport in Australia — through high school before representing his country at the IFAF World Championships in Austria in 2011, where he made a big enough impression that he earned a scholarship to Georgia Tech.
Gotsis, 6-foot-4 and 290 pounds, made 37 starts in 4 seasons for the Yellow Jackets, earning All-ACC honors as a senior in 2016 with 38 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 1 interceptions and 2 blocked kicks.
The Denver Broncos selected Gotsis in the second round (No. 63 overall) of the 2016 NFL draft. He played 4 seasons in Denver from 2016 to 2019 before playing 4 seasons for the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2020 to 2023.
Gotsis has 126 career games with 54 starts, 226 tackles and 10.5 sacks and approximately $9.8 million in career earnings.
Vea Playing Like Defensive MVP for Buccaneers
If you’re giving out defensive MVP honors for the Buccaneers in 2024, the conversations should probably begin and end with Vea, who is on pace for a career year with 34 tackles, 6.0 sacks and a career high 9 TFL through 11 games.
Vea was a first round pick (No. 12 overall) in the 2018 NFL draft and signed a 4-year, $71 million contract extension in January 2022. Vea got that deal following his lone Pro Bowl season in 2021, when he had 33 tackles, 4.0 sacks, 3 pass deflections and 1 fumble recovery.
Vea has also been key in the development of 2023 first round pick and fellow interior defensive lineman Calijah Kancey, who is tied with Vea for the team lead with 6.0 sacks despite missing the first 5 games of the season with a calf injury.
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Buccaneers Urged to Sign 9-Year Veteran DT, Former Second Round Pick