After five games, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have only six total sacks, tying them with the Philadelphia Eagles for the fourth-fewest in the NFL.

That's a problem.

For a team coached by Todd Bowles, long regarded as one of the NFL's top defensive coaches, generating only six sacks in five games is unacceptable, especially after the Bucs poured so many resources into their defensive front seven this offseason.

In free agency, Tampa signed inside linebacker Alex Anzalone, edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad, and defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson. Muhammad, in particular, was expected to immediately boost the team's pass rush after recording 11 sacks last season with the Detroit Lions.

Muhammad has yet to record a sack through five games with his new team.

The Bucs then drafted Rueben Bain Jr. in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Bain was considered by many to be the top pass rusher in the draft, but he hasn't made any impact in his three games. Bain missed Weeks 3 and 4 with shoulder and groin injuries.

Tampa also gave star DT Vita Vea a huge contract extension before the season, adding $6 million to his $18 million salary for 2026 and fully guaranteeing all $24 million plus another $24 million next year. Vea had recorded 35 sacks over his first eight seasons in Tampa but has none so far this year.

Fellow DT Calijah Kancey, who had 11.5 sacks in his first two seasons before missing almost all of 2025 with a torn pectoral muscle, also has a goose egg in the sack department.

The Bucs' best pass rusher is outside linebacker David Walker, who returned this season after missing his entire rookie season after being drafted in the fourth round last year. Walker leads the team with two sacks, the only player on the entire defense with more than one.

There's only one problem: Walker barely sees the field.

Why?

That's the question everybody wants to know the answer to, including Ashlie Abrahams of Bucs Wire, who wonders why Tampa, which is struggling so badly to find a consistent pass rush, would keep its best pass rusher on the sidelines so often.

In Thursday night's game against the Dallas Cowboys, which saw the Bucs finally earn their much-needed first win of the season, Tampa recorded zero sacks for the second week in a row.

Yet Walker only saw the field for 19 snaps.

Why?

It's not like Walker is some one-trick pony who is a liability in most situations, as Abrahams notes.

"The numbers make his limited role even harder to understand. Walker currently holds a 77.5 overall Pro Football Focus grade, ranking 19th among 112 qualifying edge defenders. His 82.3 pass rush grade ranks 10th, while his 76.1 run defense grade ranks 13th. That combination is important because Walker isn't simply a situational pass rusher. He's showing the ability to impact the game against both the run and pass."

Walker's ability to also be an asset against the run makes his limited role absolutely baffling.

Even if he was a one-trick pony, that one trick is something the Bucs desperately need.

Abrahams went into even more depth to show just how good Walker has been this season.

"Through five games, Walker has recorded two sacks and 10 pressures despite playing just 71 defensive snaps. His 29.4% pressure rate ranks second in the NFL among players with at least 30 pass rush attempts. He's also averaging just 2.59 seconds to generate pressure, the 11th-fastest mark among defenders with at least 10 pressures. Against Dallas, Walker generated three pressures on just 10 pass-rush opportunities, for an impressive 30% pressure rate. He also earned an 83.7 pass rush grade and helped create one of the game's biggest defensive plays, deflecting a Dak Prescott pass that eventually landed in Yaya Diaby's hands for an interception. Yet somehow, Walker finished fourth among Tampa Bay's edge rushers in playing time. Rueben Bain Jr. received 35 snaps, Diaby played 34, and Al-Quadin Muhammad saw 25. Walker received just 19, accounting for 32% of the defensive snaps."

There is absolutely no good reason for Walker not to be given significantly more playing time. At this point, keeping him off the field is borderline negligence for a team that desperately needs what he can provide.

The Bucs' season is still hanging by a thread, and the lack of a pass rush has made a difference in all four of Tampa's losses, which have all been one-score games.

Who knows how many games Tampa may have been able to pull out if Walker had been given more of a chance to make an impact?

If the Bucs want to go on a run and get back into the race for the NFC South, especially with three winnable games upcoming, they must start putting their best pass rusher on the field.