Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2015 Profiles: Bruce Carter

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a sizable splash this offseason when they signed former Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker Bruce Carter to a four-year, $17 million deal, albeit with just $4.2 million in guaranteed money. But despite playing on the outside in Dallas, Carter is set to move to middle linebacker in Lovie Smith’s Tampa 2 defense with Lavonte David at WILL and presumably either Danny Lansanah or promising rookie Kwon Alexander fighting for the strong-side spot.

If you look at the structure of Carter’s deal with the Buccaneers, it seems like a very low-risk deal despite the fact that it’s worth $17 million overall. Per Spotrac.com, Carter will make all of his $4.25 million in guaranteed money this season in the form of a $3 million base salary and a $1.25 million roster bonus. He’ll have a $750,000 roster bonus next season with a $3.5 million base salary (which increases until topping out at $4.25 million in each of his final two seasons of the four-year contract), but none of that will be in a “dead cap” hit against the Buccaneers.

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It’s a good thing that the Bucs aren’t guaranteeing Carter anything after this season, because assuming that he can come in and be an impact player at middle linebacker is a bit of a risk. However, it’s a risk worth taking, because Carter is the kind of athletic linebacker who can succeed in the middle in Smith’s defense. Another positive is the fact that his new teammate David stated in April that the 27-year-old UNC product “really understands” the defense despite being in his first offseason with the Bucs.

Carter will have to, too, because he’s playing a critical position on a defense that allowed 25.6 points per game and was disastrous against opposing passing attacks. The Buccaneers were undoubtedly attracted to his career-high five interceptions and eight passes defended last season, so they’ll be counting on his coverage skills to shine through this season.

But the worry with Carter is that he’ll be too inconsistent, particularly in the running game, to become a fixture at the heart of the Buccaneers defense. Last season, per Pro Football Focus, Carter ranked 26th among 42 qualifying 4-3 outside linebackers in Run Stop%, putting him well behind teammates David and Lansanah (3rd and 12th, respectively) in that department. He was 32nd out of 37 qualifiers in 2013 despite having 96 tackles (as compared to 68 last season), so the Buccaneers will have to hope that the move inside actually helps him in run defense.

However, it is important to stress the fact that the Buccaneers have brought him in to boost the team’s coverage, and he and David could form one of the best coverage duos in the game if Bruce Carter can turn his potential and athletic ability into consistently solid work in the passing game. He’s coming off of what was easily the best season of his career in coverage, but there’s a reason why the Buccaneers haven’t guaranteed anything beyond this year; they are willing to reward him, but they need to see him do it twice.

Carter will have to become a more consistent and disciplined player next season, as he was 38th out of 47 players in PFF’s “Tackle Efficiency”, which basically means that he missed too many tackles in comparison to the number of plays he made on the field. The Buccaneers might just have to swallow the missed tackles and poor run defense and hope that Carter’s athletic ability and work in coverage, particularly in the playmaking department following his five-pick 2014 season, overcome those mishaps in the other parts of his game.

With David and either Lansanah or Alexander starting along with Carter, the Buccaneers should have a strong trio of linebackers in the 2015 season, though Carter could actually be the biggest question mark of the group after being outplayed by both David and Lansanah last season.

We’ll see how Carter fits the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the middle, but it’s clear that he has big-time upside on their defense wherever he plays at linebacker. If playing in the middle doesn’t work, then he can always swap spots with Lansanah and play on the strong-side, which appeared to be his position with the Bucs when they first signed him.

Nov 9, 2014; London, UNITED KINGDOM; Dallas Cowboys linebacker Bruce Carter (54) against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium. The Cowboys defeated the Jaguars 31-17. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Carter has elite physical tools, so if Smith can help him become more consistent, then he could emerge as a difference-maker for a Buccaneers defense that could use another game-changer on defense in the form of a 6’2″, 240-pound LB with sub-4.6 speed.

At 27 and with a new team for the first time in his career, Carter is a player worth watching closely next season, especially since he comes in with experience playing in a Smith-style defense.

He could be a significant liability against the run, but he should be a massive upgrade over Mason Foster, who is now with the Chicago Bears, in coverage.

With the type of praise Carter has received for his understanding of the Buccaneers defense, you get the feeling that he might be putting it all together after an inconsistent four seasons in Dallas. He’s definitely as talented as they come, so here’s to hoping that he can blossom with his new team.

Next: Expectations for Charles Sims

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