After the 2023 season, the Buccaneers retained four of their five offensive line starters for 2024, all of whom the team had drafted in one of the first three rounds between 2020 and 2023. The exception was the left guard spot, which had been split between Matt Feiler and Aaron Stinnie, neither of whom appeared to be a long-term solution. Both hit free agency last March; Stinnie signed with the New York Giants and eventually logged three starts while Feiler did not find a new team in 2024.
The 2024 free agency period was a relatively quiet one for the Buccaneers, who had sunk most of their available cap space into new deals for Mike Evans, Baker Mayfield, Lavonte David, Antoine Winfield Jr. and Chase McLaughlin. Still, the Bucs made a couple mid-level deals with players on the market, including the signings of former Giant Ben Bredeson and former Philadelphia Eagle Sua Opeta. Those two were expected to compete for the one spot on the Bucs' offensive front that had not been addressed with a draft pick.
Opeta suffered a season-ending injury early in training camp, which settled that competition, though Bredeson appeared to be in the lead already. Bredeson did eventually get the nod at left guard, joining Tristan Wirfs, rookie Graham Barton, Cody Mauch and Luke Goedeke. The newcomer fit right in and Tampa Bay ended up fielding one of the best offensive lines in the NFL.
Bredeson's contract with the Buccaneers was something of a "prove-it" deal, lasting only one year and not hitting the team's salary cap too hard. Bredeson did indeed prove it, and now he has a shot to hit free agency again and possibly seek out a longer-term third contract.
Bredeson is one of 23 players from the Bucs' 2024 roster who are on pace to become unrestricted free agents if they don't get a new deal done before the start of the 2025 league year in March, a list that grew by one when the team declined their second-year option on safety Jordan Whitehead. Some of the players we'll examine prior to the free agency start date of March 12 could get a new deal to stay in Tampa before that deadline. It's likely some of them will not be back, or will at least see what's available in free agency. This is the full schedule of our 2025 Free Agent Focus rundown:
February 12: WR Chris Godwin
February 14: QB Kyle Trask
February 19: OLB Anthony Nelson
February 26: C Robert Hainsey
February 28: WR Sterling Shepard
March 3: OLB Shaquil Barrett
March 4: LB Lavonte David
March 5: G Ben Bredeson
March 6: OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka
March 7: LB K.J. Britt
This list is subject to change based on potential roster moves in the coming weeks. Today we look at a key member of one of the top-performing units on the team in 2024.
Player: Ben Bredeson
Position: Guard
Age at the Start of the 2024 Season: 27
Experience: Entering sixth NFL season
How Acquired: Signed as an unrestricted free agent on March 15, 2024.
Previous Contract(s): As a fourth-round draft pick by the Baltimore Ravens in 2020, Bredeson signed the standard four-year deal presented to all players selected after the first round. When the New York Giants traded for Bredeson in August of 2021, they inherited the remainder of that contract, which concluded after the 2023 season.
Rank in Pro Football Focus **Top 150 NFL Free Agents** for 2025: Not ranked.
2024 Performance: Bredeson started all 17 games at left guard for the Buccaneers in 2024 and played 99% of the team's offensive snaps. Pro Football Focus credited him with allowing two sacks during the season.
Individual statistics are not easy to come by for offensive line, but Bredeson deserves a share of the credit for many impressive accomplishments by his group. According to Pro Football Network, the Buccaneers allowed the lowest pressure rate in the NFL (24.4%) and were effective against both four-man pass rushes and blitzes.
In addition, the Buccaneers completely revitalized their rushing attack after finishing dead last in that category in both 2022 and 2023. In 2024, Tampa Bay's offense produced 149.2 rushing yards per game, an improvement of over 60 yards per game from the year before. The Bucs also made a nearly unprecedented year-over-year leap in yards per carry, improving from 3.44 in 2023 to 5.25 last year. The Buccaneers ranked fourth in rushing yards per game and third in yards per carry and set new single-season franchises for total rushing yards and yards per carry.
Overall, Bredeson contributed to an offense that ranked third in total yards and fourth in points scored and was the only team in the NFL to land in the top five in both rushing and passing.
Career Accomplishments: Bredeson has played in 62 regular season games, starting 42 of them. After serving as a reserve in Baltimore in his rookie season, he was traded to the Giants prior to the 2021 season and ended up playing eight games with one start that season. Bredeson moved into the starting lineup in 2022, logging eight starts in 11 games.
In his last year with the Giants, Bredeson started all 16 games in which he played and was on the field for 96% of the offensive snaps in those contests. New York ranked 16th in the NFL in rushing yards that season, producing 110.2 yards per game.
Other Potential Free Agent Interior Offensive Lineman: G Trey Smith* (Chiefs), G Will Fries (Colts), G Teven Jenkins (Bears), G Kevin Zeitler (Lions), G James Daniels (Steelers), G Mekhi Becton (Eagles), G Brandon Scherff (Jaguars), G Zack Martin (Cowboys), G Patrick Mekari (Ravens), G Aaron Banks (49ers), G Will Hernandez (Cardinals), C Coleman Shelton (Bears)
(* received the franchise tag from Kansas City)
Top Interior Offensive Line Prospects in 2025 NFL Draft: Tyler Booker (Alabama), Tate Ratledge (Georgia), Jared Wilson (Georgia), Dylan Fairchild (Georgia), Jake Majors (Texas), Jonah Manheim (USC), Luke Kandra (Cincinnati), Jackson Slater (Sacramento State), Tyler Cooper (Minnesota), Joshua Gray (Oregon State), Willie Lampkin (North Carolina), Connor Colby (Iowa), Addison West (Western Michigan), Hayden Connor (Texas), Seth McLaughlin (Ohio State), Cooper Mays (Tennessee)
