JULY 20 - BOOGER A LEGEND? - EA Sports College Football 25 is one of the most anticipated sports games of all time, as the last installment in the series was released back in 2013.

One of the most popular modes of the new game is College Ultimate Team and EA Sports just dropped the first group of Legend cards. One of the players they dropped is LSU and Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive lineman Anthony "Booger" McFarland.

He has one of the best college careers of any defensive lineman ever, and he kept it going when the Bucs drafted him. He was a big part of the team's first Super Bowl win in 2003, and that greatness has earned him a spot in the first legends drop for EA Sports College Football 25 Ultimate Team.

JULY 20 - BARRETT RETIRES - Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Shaquil Barrett signed a free agent deal with the Miami Dolphins, ending a five-year run with the Bucs. On Saturday, he decided his NFL career is over.

“It’s time for me to hang it up,” Barrett wrote in a statement. “It’s been a great ride, and I appreciate everything that came with it over the years. I’m ready to shift my full focus to my wife and kids and helping them realize their dreams and catch ‘em. Anyone who caught their dreams before knows the work, time and consistency required to reach them.

"I’m ready to start building skills up in my kids, which will take 100 percent commitment. I know to some it’ll be a surprise, but I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and the decision has never been more clear than it is now.”

Barrett played five seasons in Tampa Bay and registered 249 total tackles with 178 solo and 48 for loss while adding three interceptions, 15 forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries across 70 games, all starts.

JULY 20 - LYNCH ALL-TIMER - John Lynch is now known to the younger crowd as the GM for the San Francisco 49ers. But before that, he was one of the best NFL safeties in the game.

And how good was the Bucs standout?

Lynch, a centerpiece of one of the best defenses in league history - and a Super Bowl champion and then a Pro Football Hall of Famer - has now landed as the No. 11 guy on Ian Valentino's best safeties of all-time list for 33rd Team.

The Bucs ... so often under-recognized, then and now - will take it.

JULY 20 - BAKER ON DAVID - Baker Mayfield has a bunch of nice things to say about his Tampa Bay Buccaneers experience and about teammates like Mike Evans - which makes sense ... Evans is his go-to guy on offense, and the QB told the Pardon My Take podcast that Evans might deserve to be seen as an all-time great.

But then Mayfield jumped to the D.

"I'd be remiss to say, Lavonte David as well. Another one of those guys in Tampa that gets no recognition — the dude is a Hall of Famer,"Mayfield said. " He's unbelievable."

JULY 20 - HOT TODD - The oddsmakers at BetOnline see problems ahead for Todd Bowles.

The wise guys now have their lines on the first NFL coach to be fired ... with the Jets' Robert Saleh leading the way at 5/1, just ahead of Dallas' Mike McCarthy.

And in the top (bottom?) seven?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers boss Todd Bowles is tied for seventh on the list with 10/1 odds.

Bowles perennially wins the NFC South and makes the playoffs ... and as near as we can tell has locker-room support. That doesn't mean, of course, that the hot seat is forever cool.

JULY 19 - PANTHERS RB BROOKS MOVED TO PUP - The Carolina Panthers' second-round pick in April's NFL Draft, running back Jonathan Brooks, has been moved to the non-football PUP list on Friday.

Even though he suffered his knee injury playing football, it was before he was drafted into the NFL and is still rehabbing. He can be activated at any time during training camp or the preseason

The 6-0, 299-pound running back played three seasons at the University of Texas and amassed 1,479 yards on 238 carries for a 6.2-yards per carry average. He also scored 16 touchdowns on the ground and caught 25 passes for 286 yards and another two scores.

The Bucs and Panthers will meet twice this season, on Dec. 1 in Carolina and again on Dec. 29 at Raymond James Stadium.

JULY 18 - KLEIN COULD THRIVE - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a solid 2024 NFL Draft, and one of their picks that could go under the radar is offensive guard Elijah Klein out of UTEP.

In a recent article by Bleacher Report's Derrick Klassen, he outlines some unexpected rookies that could thrive in their first year. Klein is one of the players that he mentions, as he thinks he could change how the offensive line plays.

Cody Mauch is currently the team's starting right guard, and Klein is a much more imposing physical threat. If he can prove that he should start at right guard, Klein could help improve the Bucs' offensive line.

JULY 17 TOM BRADY BEST QB OF CENTURY One of, if not the greatest player in the history of the NFL is former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady. In a recent article by Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon, he puts together a 21st century All-Star team, and the former Buccaneer is the quarterback.

"You can make arguments that Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers are more talented than Brady, but there's really no denying a guy who threw 88 touchdown passes in the playoffs alone," Gagnon writes. "The three-time MVP is the most decorated player in NFL history. Enough said."

Brady led the Buccaneers to their second ever Super Bowl, therefore further cementing himself as the most dominant quarterback of the 21st century.

JULY 17 FALCONS' OFFENSE WINS OFFSEASON The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were able to win the NFC South last season, but doing so again this season will be a bit harder.

In a recent article by Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski, he gives who he thinks are the biggest winners and loser s from the offseason so far. One of the winners he lists is the Atlanta Falcons' offense, as they now have a proven starting quarterback.

Kirk Cousins was out for a good majority of this past season due to an Achilles injury. But if he can bounce back and lead the team's young and very talented offense, they could be in a good spot to compete with the reigning NFC South champions.