Unless you've been living under a rock, you've likely heard all about how the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the first Super Bowl champion since the 1970s to bring back all 22 starters from their championship season for a run at back-to-back titles.
The Bucs could have rested on their laurels and been content in bringing back everybody, but they didn't do that. They made upgrades to their depth on both sides of the ball, in both the draft and free agency.
One of the most notable upgrades they made came on offense, at a position where they already had quite a bit of depth. Even with Ronald Jones, Leonard Fournette, and Ke'Shawn Vaughn already on the roster, the Bucs snatched up former Bengals running back Giovani Bernard very quickly once he hit the open market.
Bernard's skill as a receiver is something the Bucs were missing last season. They shoehorned Jones and Fournette into the pass-catcher role at different times throughout the year, but neither player is a perfect fit. Bernard is the same type of player as pass-catching backs Tom Brady has played with throughout his career, like James White, Shane Vereen, and Kevin Faulk.
It should not be surprising, then, that Bucs coach Bruce Arians believes Bernard will be a big part of the Tampa offense this coming season. Arians said just that on Thursday, noting that Bernard has been "more than pretty good" during training camp. Bernard seems likely to see the field on most -- if not all -- third downs this season, providing Brady with an outlet out of the backfield to complement the vertical weapons he has on the perimeter.
Tampa's offense got on a nice roll down the stretch of last season once Brady, Arians, and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich were able to blend the scheme and Brady's pre-existing skill set, and it's exciting to think that they could still add yet another element to the offense this year.
Brady, Gronk and the gang are back. Are the Bucs ready to hoist the Lombardi Trophy again? Download the CBS Sports app to get up-the-minute updates on the defending champs. Favorite the Bucs now if you've already downloaded the CBS Sports app so you don't miss a thing.
