Bucs' McLaughlin & Smith: Special Teams Upheaval

0:00On April 2nd, Tampa Bay Buccaneers been battling special teams' woes for years, sitting near the bottom and kickoff return yards, allowed and giving up. Blocked kicks left and right. But their place kicker, Chase McLaughlin, flipped the Scribb-Lassies in with the best kicking year in team history, nailing 32 of 38. Field goals, including 11 of 12 from 50 yards or longer. He capped it with a franchise record, 65 yard bomb against the Eagles in Week 8, just shy of the NFL mark. McLaughlin stayed clutch all year, perfect from deep until the final week, turning heads across the league. Coach Todd Bowles raved about the guy's consistency after he bounced around early in his career, now thriving in Tampa over three seasons with, 91 of 101 field goals made in 26 from 50 plus most, and Bucks history for that span. Big changes hit special teams this off season, with Danny Smith coming in as coordinator, bringing nearly 30 years of experience from Pittsburgh, where he coached two all pros

1:02like Chris Boswell and Miles Killabrew. Killabrew followed himself on a 1-year, $1.8 million deal. With Smith unlocking more potential in McLaughlin in his contract year, Buccaneer's special teams could finally level up and dominate down the stretch. That's the story for today, NFL News Today, driven by AI.