Buccaneers' Daryl Smith: Lackluster season in 2016

Smith totaled 35 tackles (28 solo), including two for a loss, one fumble recovery and one interception over 16 games during the 2016 season.

Analysis:

The veteran tackling machine posted what was easily his lowest total of stops of any season in which he'd played at least 14 games. Smith held down the starting strongside linebacker job throughout the duration of the campaign, but the drop in his production was especially notable considering he was coming off the three most prolific seasons of his career from a tackles perspective. New defensive coordinator Mike Smith's scheme, which Smith had played in for four seasons (2004-07) in Jacksonville, seemed to funnel a great deal of the action to MLB Kwon Alexander, who posted 145 tackles. The 13-year pro notably wasn't the only established linebacker on the Bucs to see a precipitous drop in his numbers -- Lavonte David's 87 tackles also represented a low-water mark for him -- so the downturn likely wasn't exclusively age-related. However, Smith is now an unrestricted free agent, and given his largely disappointing season, the Bucs would currently appear unlikely to bring him back into the fold for 2017.