2007 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The 2007 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the 32nd season for the team in the National Football League. They improved upon their 4-12 record from 2006 in the NFC South, and they got back to the playoffs for the first time since 2005, losing in the Wild Card game to the New York Giants. They finished as the NFC South Champions.

Coaching staff
Head coach Jon Gruden will be entering his sixth year with the Bucs. He will be with Offensive Coordinator Bill Muir and Defensive Coordinator Monte Kiffin.

Offseason
The 2007 offseason proved to be productive for the Buccaneers. GM Bruce Allen and head coach Jon Gruden had approximately 24 million dollars in cap space with which to maneuver during free agency. They made a splash on the first day of free agency by signing two quarterbacks: Jeff Garcia and UFA from the Eagles and Jake Plummer in a trade for a conditional pick in the 2008 draft (believed to be a 4th round selection if Plummer played). Controversy soon followed as Plummer announced his retirement on the same day, citing his health and his lack of a desire to compete for a job and learn a new system. Many believed that Plummer was simply trying to retire so that he could later unretire and play for the Houston Texans led by his former coach Gary Kubiak, under whom Plummer played his best 3 years of football. The league reviewed the trade to make sure that Plummer had not retired before the trade (a retired player cannot be traded), but he had not and his rights officially belong to the Buccaneers. Other free agent losses and signings are as follows:

Signings


 * New York Giants OT Luke Petitgout, signed after being waved by his former team due to medical reasons.
 * Miami Dolphins UFA DE Kevin Carter
 * Indianapolis Colts UFA LB Cato June who was selected to the Pro Bowl two years ago
 * New York Jets UFA FB B.J. Askew
 * Denver Broncos UFA DE/LB Patrick Chukwurah who had 4.5 sacks last season off of the bench. He is reunited with his former defensive coordinator, the current Buccaneers defensive line coach, Larry Coyer.
 * San Francisco 49ers UFA CB Sammy Davis, a former first round pick by the San Diego Chargers.
 * San Francisco 49ers UFA DT Lance Legree, who has recorded 138 tackles and seven sacks in 76 games, including 25 starts. He was released on April 10.
 * DT Kenny Smith, who was out of football last season, but spent four seasons with the New Orleans Saints and one year with the Oakland Raiders, totaling 69 tackles and 4 1/2 sacks.
 * New Orleans Saints UFA WR Levon Thomas who spent most of his time on the practice squad after being signed as an UFA by the Indianapolis Colts following the 2005 NFL Draft.

Losses


 * The key loss for the Buccaneers was standout DE and former second round pick, Dewayne White who left to sign with his former DL coach, the current head coach of the Detroit Lions, Rod Marinelli.
 * Versatile Lineman Sean Mahan left to join the Pittsburgh Steelers to reunite with another former Tampa Bay coach, Mike Tomlin.
 * The team released veteran linebacker Shelton Quarles after it was reported he failed a physical. Quarles had long been a productive player for Tampa, having spent his entire ten year NFL career with the team.
 * Following the draft, the Buccaneers released cornerback Juran Bolden, safety Tra Boger, long snapper Adam Johnson and defensive tackle Kenny Smith.

Re-signings

After brief stays on the open market, the Buccaneers re-signed CBs Phillip Buchanon and Torrie Cox, the latter known as a special teams standout. They also re-signed fan favorite Mike Alstott to a one-year contract.

The 2007 NFL Draft
The 2007 NFL Draft took place in Radio City Music Hall on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The Buccaneers were either to pick third or fourth in the draft, to be determined by a coin flip with the Cleveland Browns because the two teams had identical records and strength of schedule. Bucs GM Bruce Allen called heads and the coin landed tails. For the first round, the Buccaneers picked fourth. The two teams alternated picking third and fourth in each round. In addition to their given picks, Tampa Bay also holds the Colts' second round pick, the 64th pick overall (because of a midseason trade for Anthony McFarland), but also lost a sixth round pick in a trade for tight end Doug Jolley formerly of the New York Jets. They also received two compensatory picks, awarded for losses during free agency. During the draft, the Buccaneers swapped fourth-rounders with the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for their pick in the sixth round.

Preseason
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers played four preseason games.

Week 1: at Seattle Seahawks

 * Game time: Sunday September 9, 2007 - 4:00 p.m. EDT
 * Game weather: TBA
 * Stadium: Qwest Field
 * Television announcers (FOX): TBA
 * Game attendance: TBA

The Buccaneers opened their regular season on the road against the Seattle Seahawks. Matt Bryant would kick two field goals but the offense stalled the rest of the game as Jeff Garcia and Cadillac Williams both suffered injuries that hampered them for the entire game. Seattle would take a 10-6 lead into halftime via a Josh Brown field goal and a Shaun Alexander touchdown run, and put it away in the 4th quarter with another field goal by Brown and a long Matt Hasselback touchdown pass to Maurice Morris.

Week 2 vs. New Orleans

 * Game time: Sunday September 16, 2007 - 1:00 p.m. EDT
 * Game weather: TBA
 * Stadium: Raymond James Stadium
 * Television announcers (FOX): TBA
 * Game attendance: TBA