The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got a short-term fix at edge rusher when they signed 2-time Pro Bowler Haason Reddick to a 1-year, $14 million contract on March 10.
The Buccaneers could get a long-term fix at the position, with a in a proposed trade from Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon for 24-year-old New York Giants edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux.
The Giants might be looking to deal Thibodeaux, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft, if the 2025 NFL draft goes chalk with Miami quarterback Cam Ward No. 1 overall to the Tennessee Titans, Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter to the Cleveland Browns at No. 2 overall and Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter to the Giants with the No. 3 pick.
The Giants have yet to pick up the fifth year option on Thibodeaux’s 4-year, $31.3 million rookie contract and already have one of the NFL’s highest paid edge rushers on the roster after trading for Brian Burns in March 2024 and signing him to a 5-year, $141 million contract extension.
Gagnon thinks the Buccaneers might be able to get Thibodeaux from the Giants in exchange for a 2025 third round pick (No. 84 overall) or a 2026 second round pick.
“Pro Football Focus assigned (the Buccaneers) a bottom-12 pass rush as a ton of their pressure and sacks came from spots other than the edge in 2024,” Gagnon wrote on April 23. “Even with talented question mark Haason Reddick joining the fray, they need help now.”
The Buccaneers relied on their interior defensive line for the bulk of their pressure and sacks in 2024, with defensive tackles Calijah Kancey (7.5 sacks) and Vita Vea (7.0 sacks) leading the way.
From Top-Rated Recruit to No. 5 Overall Draft Pick
According to 247Sports, Thibodeaux was the No. 6 recruit in the country for the Class of 2019 out of Oaks Christian School in Thousand Oaks, California, before signing with Oregon, where he was the 2019 Pac-12 Defensive Freshman of the Year, a 2-time All-Pac-12 pick and an All-American in 2021. In 3 seasons at Oregon, Thibodeaux had 19.0 sacks and 35.5 TFL.
If the jury is still out on what kind of pro Thibodeaux has been, that seems more of a reflection of how bad the Giants have been — he has a 17-game average of 8.3 sacks and 18 QB hits over his first 3 seasons. The Giants went 3-14 in 2024, which tied for the team’s worst record in the last 50 years, and are 9-25 over the last 2 seasons.
The Giants might also be one of the most active teams in terms of trades, with the possibility they might try and add a first round pick in order to draft Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart.
Depending on how bad the Giants and head coach Brian Daboll want Dart, the Buccaneers might consider packaging their No. 19 overall pick in exchange for Thibodeaux and a bounty of draft picks.
Buccaneers, Licht With First Round Edge Rusher in 2021
Headed into his 12th draft as Tampa Bay’s general manager, Jason Licht has drafted an edge rusher in the first round just once, with JJoe Tryon-Shoyinka at No. 32 overall in the 2021 NFL draft. Tryon-Shoyinka was a bust, with career lows in tackles (29), sacks (2.0), QB hits (4) and TFL (3) in 2024 before signing a 1-year, $4.75 million free agent contract with the Browns on March 11.
