After falling apart down the stretch in 2025, plenty of questions surround the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2026.

Though the Bucs have plenty of talent on their roster, their 2-7 finish last season has caused many to wonder if they can play up to their talent level.

Frank Schwab of Yahoo! Sports doubts they will, which led him to rank the Bucs 22nd in his ongoing offseason power rankings.

However, at least one person is a big believer in the 2026 Bucs.

Lavonte David, who retired this offseason after playing 14 seasons with the Bucs, believes the team he is leaving behind will be just fine without him.

According to JoeBucsFan.com, David believes the Bucs will be "animals" this season.

David Spoke On Kevin Clark's Podcast

David spoke on Kevin Clark's This is Football podcast and gave a ringing endorsement of his former team.

“They are going to be some animals, man,” David proudly predicted. “I knew Reuben Bain already; I reached out to him after he got drafted. And he told me, ‘Man, I wish you just waited one more year.” And in my mind I was like, ‘Maybe I should have.’ But, you know, the deal is done already. … I told him. I’m definitely going to be there to be supporting him and stuff like that."

So far, all of the reviews on Bain have been overwhelmingly positive. He is expected to be the new face of Tampa's defense, and is looking to make the teams that allowed him to fall to the Bucs at pick 15 look like fools.

JoeBucsFan also reports that David expects a healthy Bucky Irving and a healthy offensive line to make a huge difference this year. In fact, David is a big fan of the entire roster and thinks it has everything it needs to succeed.

“The roster is set up beautifully,” he added.

Final Thoughts

The Bucs should enter the 2026 season with an enormous chip on their shoulders. Not only did they brutally end the 2025 season, but their effort on the field was questioned.

The team has a lot of work to do to regain the faith of its fans, and to live up to the standard set by the fearsome Tampa defenses of the past.

David, one of the best players ever to suit up for the Bucs, has faith the team will rebound in 2026. He thinks Tampa has the firepower for a terrific season.

There is no doubting that the Bucs are an extremely talented, balanced team. However, they need to put it all together on the field to finally put an end to all the talk about what happened last year.

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