The Buccaneers made it their business to improve the pass defense prior to the 2016 season. Brent Grimes was signed as a free agent. Vernon Hargreaves was selected in the draft. The idea was to give Mike Smith a talented group stopping the passing game to go along with a solid and growing front seven.
As we all saw, the defense took time to come together. It flashed, but the pass defense was behind the run defense. The Bucs finished 22nd in the league against the pass, averaging 250.