“Football is won and lost in the trenches.”
Would you be surprised, given the defensive stats last year, if I told you the Bucs were third in 2017 with 26.12% ($40.1 million) of their salary cap allocated to the defensive line? Now, what if I told you the Bucs have been in the top ten of defensive line salary cap allocation every year since 2014?
The lack of a consistent pass rush and sacks over the last four seasons makes that hard to believe, right? Yet, those are the cold hard facts.