On March 20, 2020, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sent shockwaves through the NFL by signing quarterback Tom Brady, an unrestricted free agent who had already spent 20 seasons with the New England Patriots and won six Super Bowls. The G.O.A.T., in other words.

It wasn't the richest deal in NFL history, but it may have been the boldest. Believing they had constructed a roster that could compete for Lombardi Trophies if it added an elite quarterback, the Buccaneers pivoted from their previous approach of avoiding contracts that would have serious salary cap implications down the road and pushed their chips all in. It worked; the Buccaneers supplemented the Brady arrival with such signings as Rob Gronkowski, Leonard Fournette and Antonio Brown and walked away with the Super Bowl LV crown.

Since then, the Buccaneers have made a number of large-dollar signings, but almost exclusively to retain their own established stars: Chris Godwin, Lavonte David, Shaquil Barrett, Vita Vea, Carlton Davis, Godwin again, Will Gholston, Jamel Dean, David again, Mike Evans, Antoine Winfield Jr., Baker Mayfield, David again, Chase McLaughlin, Tristan Wirfs, and so on. The combination of the go-for-it spending that began in 2020 and the long list of new contracts above meant there has generally not been a lot of splurging for the Bucs' on the free agent market, in terms of newcomers.

That could be the case again in 2025. The Buccaneers are still in the bottom 10 in the NFL in terms of available cap space, according to Spotrac, and that's without factoring in possible new contracts for Godwin and David. Still, there are always avenues for a team to get creative with it's cap space, so we can never fully rule out any free agency pursuit.

So, as Staff Writer/Reporter Brianna Dix and I continue our weekly offseason-beginning series of Point/Counterpoint debates, we are going to start this week with a complete hypothetical: What if the Buccaneers did make at least one big splash in free agency this year, bringing in an established standout player from another team. If we knew that was going to happen, which player exactly would we hope it would be?

Brianna and I have lined up six topics we will be debating over the next month and a half, one to begin each week. Here's the whole schedule:

Tuesday, January 21: What was your most pleasant surprise regarding the Buccaneers' 2024 season?

Monday, January 27: Who is your most intriguing under-the-radar player on the 2025 roster?

Monday, February 3: What is the most pressing roster need the Bucs' need to address in the offseason?

Monday, February 10: If the Buccaneers were to make a big free agency splurge, who would you want?

Monday, February 17: What position would you like to see Tampa Bay target in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft?

Monday, February 24: Give us one specific statistical prediction for the Bucs' 2025 season?

Obviously, there will be plenty of changes to the list of potential free agents between now and the start of the new league year on March 12, but for now we're going to go with the list of all those who currently have expiring contracts and the four necessary seasons of accrued credit to be of the unrestricted free agent variety.

As we alternate the order of our picks from week to week – we won't be duplicating picks, so going first could matter – it's back to my turn to start us off.

Scott Smith: LB Dre Greenlaw

This one is tricky because San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw has only played 34 defensive snaps since tearing an Achilles tendon running back onto the field early in Super Bowl LVIII. He started last season on the reserve/PUP list a he continued his recovery from that injury and wasn't activated until December 12. He played 30 defensive snaps against the Rams in Week 14 – and actually looked pretty darn good! – and then another four against the Dolphins in Week 15. Eliminated from the playoff hunt, the 49ers elected to shut Greenlaw back down for the rest of the season.

Even though he looked like his usual self in that Rams game, that's obviously too small of a sample size to prove Greenlaw is all the way back, but it wasn't a bad sign, either. And by the time teams start up their 2025 offseason programs this spring, he will have had about four months to continue his recovery.

Spotrac estimates Greenlaw's market value at $6.7 million per year, which is actually lower than the AV of $8.2 million he had on his previous contract. The uncertainty of his injury may be the reason for that, but Greenlaw is likely to draw interest from multiple teams in free agency (if the 49ers don't re-sign him first) and that could help him exceed Spotrac's AV estimate.

Greenlaw has yet to make a Pro Bowl or All-Pro team, but that might have a lot to do with playing next to Fred Warner, who is a super magnet for such honors. But Greenlaw is a very good linebacker in his own right. A fifth-round draft pick in 2019, Greenlaw became a starter almost immediately for the 49ers and has excelled ever since, though he did also miss 14 games in 20121.

Over the two seasons prior to his injury, Greenlaw piled up 247 tackles, 1.5 sacks, eight tackles for loss, four QB hits and 10 passes defensed. At his peak, he ranked as one of the best coverage linebackers in the NFL, and that's an area that was something of a concern for the middle of the Bucs' defense last year. Pro Football Focus gave Greenlaw very high coverage grades of 82.6 and 79.5 over the past two campaigns.

Last week, Bri and I discussed pressing roster needs for the Bucs in 2025 and my choice was off-ball linebacker. David, K.J. Britt and J.J. Russell are all pending free agents. The Bucs have to do something to keep the cupboard from being bare at the position.

Greenlaw will turn 28 in May, so he's still very much in his prime. In this fantasy world of mine, David opts to play at least one more year and the Bucs have those two patrolling the middle of the field together. Then, at the point that David inevitably calls a close to his Hall of Fame-caliber career, you still have Greenlaw to build a new linebacking corps around.

Brianna Dix: Edge Josh Sweat

The Eagles' Josh Sweat will be one of the most sought-after edge rushers on the open market but for the purposes of a hypothetical 'splurge' scenario, the Bucs take the plunge. Sweat could help bolster the Bucs' front in 2025. At 27 years old, Sweat is still playing at a high level. Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Anthony Nelson and Shaquil Barrett are all unrestricted free agents and Tampa Bay will have to fortify the position group this summer.

During the 2024 season, Sweat led the NFC Champion Eagles in sacks with eight and in pressures with 54. Throughout his career in 64 game starts, Sweat has accumulated 11 passes defensed, seven forced fumbles, 43.0 sacks, 237 combined tackles, 54 tackles for loss and 97 quarterback hits. Sweat would bring versatility and a pass rush prowess to the Bay.

His closing speed makes it look like the fast-forward button is on and despite being on the lean side as a rusher, Sweat plays with immense power – a trait the Bucs' brass covets in outside linebackers. Originally a fourth-round draft pick by the Eagles in the 2018 draft, Sweat has developed into one of the league's most imposing off the edge. The Florida State product could come back to the Sunshine State, adding another dimension to pressure packages for Todd Bowles.