After an offseason that was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, the Bucs are back.
The two main storylines of the offseason, Tom Brady’s short-lived retirement and Todd Bowles replacing Bruce Arians as head coach, seem to have been resolved with minimal internal strife. Jason Licht managed to keep Chris Godwin, Ryan Jensen, and Carlton Davis all on the roster while adding Shaq Mason, Julio Jones, and Carl Nassib.
Despite Brady’s recent leave of absence certainly raising some alarm bells, all seems to be trending in the right direction heading into the regular season.
And Vegas agrees, with most of the best sportsbooks for football betting having the Bucs slated in a prime position to contend for the Super Bowl once again.
Odds via Caesars Sportsbook
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2022-23 Odds
- To Win NFC South – 1st, -300
- To Win NFC – 1st, +325
- To Win Super Bowl – 2nd, +750
The oddsmakers at Caesars see Tampa Bay as virtual locks to win the NFC South, giving them a huge advantage over the projected second-place Saints. The Bucs are actually the biggest projected favorite of any division winner, edging out the Buffalo Bills who have -230 odds to win the AFC East.
I was personally a bit surprised to see them slated above the defending-champion Rams as the frontrunners for the NFC. But, the Rams did lose some noteworthy players over the offseason (Odell Beckham, Von Miller, and Andrew Whitworth to name a couple), so it does make sense that the Buccaneers would pull ahead. Pro Football Focus graded Tampa Bay as having the slightly better offseason, so maybe the gap between the past two Super Bowl Champions has been bridged.
The Packers are tied with the Rams at +500 for second, but with the loss of Davante Adams, it seems as if they are in a significantly worse position to compete than last season.
Bucs Have An Advantage
When you have the GOAT leading the charge, the goal will always be to take home the Lombardi, and Caesars seems to believe that the Buccaneers have a good chance of doing just that for the second time in three seasons.
The Bills are leading the charge at +600, with the Bucs sitting closely behind at +750. The Packers, Chiefs, and Rams fill out the rest of the top 5, with odds ranging from +1100 to +1200.
It’s interesting to note that the oddsmakers seem to believe in a Bucs-Bills Super Bowl. There is quite a gap between those two and the field. If the bookies are right, it looks like we’re in store for a Brady-Allen match-up at Super Bowl LVII in Phoenix.
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