The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defensive front has a lot of new pieces, with A'Shawn Robinson and Rakeem Nuñez-Roches bringing veteran presence to a young front seven.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have assembled a good mix of young talent and proven veterans, as head coach Todd Bowles looks to cool down his hot seat and get the team back atop the NFC South.
On the defensive line, the Bucs added Rueben Bain Jr. through the draft, while bringing in veteran A'Shawn Robinson and former Super Bowl Champion Rakeem Nuñez-Roches to solidify the trenches.
On Friday, Bowles identified these two players as part of the biggest change he has seen from this year's group.
"The biggest change for me is A’Shawn Robinson and Nacho (Rakeem Nuñez-Roches) because they bring attitude, they bring accountability, and they call people out on it. And they did that from Day 1 when we got in the offseason program — and that made everybody else snap into shape and fall in line," Bowles told JoeBucsFan. "And that was the biggest change for me. That was the biggest thing."
Nuñez-Roches was a key rotational piece on the D-line during Tampa's run to Super Bowl 55, appearing in 68 regular-season games and amassing 81 total tackles and two sacks.
In 2023, Nunez-Roches had his best NFL season as a Buc, recording 33 tackles and both of his sacks. This earned the former sixth-round pick a three-year, $12 million contract in New York, where Nunez-Roches produced in a slightly larger role.
Now, he reunites with Bowles and recently extended Vita Vea, looking to help the Bucs get back to winning ways.
Robinson has also played in multiple different systems and big moments, having won a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams years ago.
Robinson racked up six tackles and a sack in the big game, contributing one of seven sacks on Joe Burrow.
According to PFF, Robinson was the third-highest graded Rams defenseman in their 23-20 Super Bowl victory, grading in at an 89.5 -- nearly seven full points higher than Rams legend Aaron Donald.
Linebacker Christian Rozeboom played alongside Robinson with both the Rams and the Panthers, now reuniting with him in Tampa.
He recently talked about Robinson and how happy he is that the menacing defensive tackle is on his side.
"I’m glad he’s on my team. He’s kind of scary," Rozeboom said about Robinson.
These new additions should help the Bucs front seven to the defensive prowess under Bowles that fans are used too.
The D-line will have a big test week one against the Cincinnati Bengals' dangerous offensive attack.
