The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have their 53-man roster in place, and the next leadership call is the one that matters in the locker room: who gets the captaincy after the departures of 12-time team captain Lavonte David and nine-time team captain Mike Evans?
That kind of turnover leaves a real gap, and Tampa Bay has enough established voices to fill it. The Buccaneers used six captains last season, but under Todd Bowles they’ve gone as high as eight. For 2026, eight feels like the right number again.
Chris Godwin Jr. looks like the obvious place to start. He has already worn the title once, back in 2023, and as the longest-tenured player on the roster, he’s ready for it again.
His leadership has shown up in the details, too. Earlier this offseason, Jalen McMillan said Godwin helps the younger receivers with breathing techniques or routines on the JUGS machine, and holds the whole room to a high standard.
That’s the kind of steady presence a team leans on.
Baker Mayfield belongs in that group as well. He’s the franchise quarterback and the emotional center of the team, and this would be his fourth straight year as a captain.
Mayfield leads in a way that’s impossible to miss: by putting himself in harm’s way and doing whatever it takes to pull the group along with him. He has even said he’s willing to slide late and take hits to fire up his teammates.
That edge is part of why he fits so naturally with this team.
Tristan Wirfs is another easy call. He’s the best player on the roster by a healthy margin and the anchor up front, which is more than enough to justify a fourth consecutive captaincy. Sometimes the case writes itself.
Vita Vea also feels like a lock. The Buccaneers finally resolved his contract situation and put his trade request behind them, and now he can get back to wrecking game plans.
Vea does the kind of work that doesn’t always show up in the box score, eating double teams and opening one-on-one chances for everyone else. Even so, he’s still one of the league’s most disruptive defenders.
Since becoming a full-time starter in 2019, Tampa Bay has had the NFL’s best rushing defense, and Vea leads all nose tackles in sacks over that stretch with 32. A fifth straight captaincy would fit.
Antoine Winfield Jr. should be right there too. He’s built a reputation for showing up when the moment gets tight, and last season he saved the Bucs from a Week 1 disaster with a last-second pass breakup that prevented a potential Falcons touchdown.
That kind of relentlessness has defined him from the start. He made a game-changing forced fumble against the Saints early in his career, a play that helped swing momentum and push Tampa Bay toward a Super Bowl title.
Winfield has been a captain for three straight seasons and is trying to make it four.
Alex Anzalone is another strong fit, especially with the role he’s expected to play on defense. He was a captain in five of his seasons with the Detroit Lions and helped shape their culture and turnaround. Now he’ll be wearing the green dot and calling the defense, which makes captaincy feel like a near certainty.
Yaya Diaby rounds out the group. His voice has gotten louder, and last season he wasn’t shy about calling out the team’s lack of effort.
Lavonte David also singled him out as someone who could grow into a leadership role, which carries a lot of weight in Tampa Bay. On top of that, Diaby has delivered production, leading the team in sacks in two of the last three seasons despite shaky support around him.
He’s set to play on the best defensive line of his pro career in 2026, and this is a big year for him to establish himself as part of the team’s future.
Even the players who don’t get the “C” will matter. Rueben Bain Jr. and Josiah Trotter didn’t make this list as rookies, but they’re already leaving their mark and look like future captains.
A’Shawn Robinson is already one of the defense’s clear leaders, even if the team can only name so many captains. The same applies to Tykee Smith and Calijah Kancey, both of whom, like Diaby, earned Lavonte David’s endorsement as possible leaders.
The Buccaneers have plenty of players who can speak up, set the tone, and carry the room. That kind of depth in leadership should go a long way in 2026.
In Other News...
Buccaneers May Already Regret Letting Jack Pyburn Get Away
Jack Pyburn did enough in August to make the Buccaneers take notice, even if it did not keep him in Tampa Bay for long. The undrafted rookie flashed all preseason and finished with four sacks, tying for the most among edge defenders, before the Bucs waived him during final roster cuts and watched Kansas City move quickly to claim him for its 53-man roster.
For a team always hunting for young pass-rush help, that kind of departure can linger. Todd Bowles had already singled out Pyburns work ethic and production, which only sharpens the question of whether Tampa Bay gave up on him a little too early, or whether the Chiefs simply got there first and saw enough to make the gamble worthwhile. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Suddenly Have A Real Path Back To The Top
The NFC South does not look especially imposing heading into this season, and that has opened a lane for Tampa Bay to get back where it has spent plenty of time in recent years. ESPNs Dan Graziano sees the Buccaneers as a team that could reclaim the division, pointing to the kind of ingredients that often matter most in a crowded race: a quarterback with something to prove, better health, and a roster that has been reinforced on both sides of the ball.
Baker Mayfields motivation in a contract year sits at the center of that optimism, but it is not the only reason Tampa Bay is drawing notice. The Buccaneers have added talent on offense and defense, and if the health picture improves, they should have a real chance to separate themselves from what is expected to be a weak division. The bigger question is whether all of those pieces come together quickly enough to make the path back to the top look as clear as it does on paper. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Quarterback Battle Just Put New Pressure On Atlanta's Roster
Baker Mayfields situation in Tampa Bay remains one of the more interesting subplots of the offseason, especially with Todd Bowles noting the quarterbacks motivation even before a contract extension is finalized. For the Buccaneers, that kind of stability matters. Mayfield has already become the focal point of the offense, and Bowles comments only reinforce how central he is to what Tampa Bay wants to build heading into the next stretch of team planning.
Across the division, the Falcons are juggling a different kind of quarterback conversation, with general manager Ian Cunningham talking through the teams current situation and the roster moves that have come with it. The broader NFC South picture also includes Carolina, where Dan Morgan has been addressing roster commitments, injuries and practice squad decisions, a reminder that every team in the division is still sorting out the same basic question: who is ready now, and who still has more to prove before the picture settles? [Read more 🡒]