With David no longer around, there’s now a clear path to the Buccaneers cutting ties with every player they had at the position in 2026 — including disappointing 16-game starter SirVocea Dennis.
Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton put Dennis on his list of the NFL’s best players who could be cut this offseason after the former 5th-round pick’s 1st year as a full-time starter.
“In 2025, SirVocea Dennis started in 16 games alongside Lavonte David, who retired, and recorded 101 tackles (10 for loss), three sacks, five pass breakups and an interception, but he allowed a 122 passer rating and three touchdowns in coverage,” Moton wrote. “Dennis is an effective two-down defender, but he may be the worst coverage linebacker on the roster competing for a significant role if (Josiah) Trotter flashes on passing downs.”
SirVocea Dennis Fell Flat in 1st Season as Starter
The Buccaneers had long been intrigued to see what Dennis’ upside was since they selected him with the No. 153 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft — the same year they took his college teammate, defensive lineman Calijah Kancey, in the 1st round.
They wouldn’t get a real chance to find out until this season. Dennis missed a total of 17 games due to injuries over his first 2 seasons and didn’t become a full-time starter until 2025. As pointed out previously, while his stats look good on the surface, his struggles in pass coverage seemed to hurt Tampa Bay repeatedly.
According to Pro Football Focus, Dennis’ 49.1 overall grade puts him among the very worst inside linebackers in the NFL — he ranked 71st out of 87 eligible players at his position.
“The Bucs have a giant weakness, and his name is SirVocea Dennis,” Eagles Eric wrote on X early in the season.
“Per PFF, Sirvocea Dennis has surrendered 438 yards in coverage, the worst number in the league by a comfortable margin,” Bucs Edition Pod’s Jon Ledyard wrote on X in October 2025. “Yes, he’s given up more yards in coverage than any defensive back in the league. And over 100 yards more than the next closest linebacker.”
Buccaneers Received ‘A+’ for Free-Agent Signing
The Buccaneers haven’t wasted any time this offseason rebuilding their inside linebackers group — that started with a pair of free-agent signings (and possible starters) in Alex Anzalone and Christian Rozeboom.
It continued when they selected Mizzou’s Josiah Trotter — the son of legendary Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter — in the 2nd round (No. 46 overall) of the 2026 NFL draft.
The Buccaneers received a rare, A+ grade from The Athletic’s Daniel Popper for signing Anzalone to a 2-year, $17 million contract.
“The Bucs get younger at the position by bringing on Anzalone, who is a superior athlete as he enters his age-32 campaign,” Popper wrote. “Anzalone is fast, flexible, and fluid. He is slippery when evading blockers, especially as a blitzer … Anzalone is also a versatile coverage player. The one knock on his game is a slight lack of physicality as a run defender. But this is an excellent value deal for the Bucs at a position of need.”