The Tampa Bay Buccaneers went into 2026 expecting to make a serious run at the NFC South, but nine games in, the picture is a lot messier. At 3-6, they’re technically tied for the division lead, yet the season has been defined more by letdowns than momentum.
A few of the biggest misses have come from players the Bucs were counting on to carry real weight this year.
Emeka Egbuka was supposed to help fill the void left by Mike Evans and step into the role of top wideout after Tampa Bay drafted him in the first round a year ago. Instead, the Bucs are still searching for that answer.
Egbuka has missed time with injuries, but even when he’s been on the field, the production hasn’t matched the expectations. He has 31 catches for 278 yards, and the passing game has been so rough that he hasn’t been able to consistently separate and create on his own.
For a first-round pick, that’s a frustrating place to be.
Rueben Bain Jr. is in a similar spot, though there’s still plenty of runway left for him to turn things around. Tampa Bay believed it had landed a steal in the draft, but the early returns haven’t come close to that hype.
Bain has only two solo tackles on the season, along with one sack and one forced fumble. Per SumerSports, his pressure rate on pass-rushing snaps is 9.9%.
He’s been dropped into coverage plenty and is still adjusting to the NFL, but the Buccaneers drafted him to be disruptive, and that impact just hasn’t shown up through nine games.
Baker Mayfield may be the biggest concern of the bunch. He signed a three-year extension worth $55 million a year before the season, a move that raised eyebrows then and looks even shakier now.
Mayfield missed three games with a dislocated thumb, but in the games he has played, he hasn’t been close to good enough. He’s thrown three touchdown passes and four interceptions, including a pick-six, and he’s turned it over seven times overall.
His pressure-to-sack ratio sits just under 32%, and his dropback EPA/play of −0.297 is dead last among qualifying quarterbacks, per SumerSports. The passing offense as a whole has been ugly, and while offensive coordinator Zac Robinson and the receivers deserve blame too, Mayfield is a major part of the problem.
Antoine Winfield Jr. has also fallen short of the standard the Bucs expected when they handed him a four-year, $81 million deal. Injuries have been a factor, and he may miss more time after leaving the game against the Chicago Bears with an ankle injury.
But even when he has been available, the impact hasn’t been there. In six games, Winfield has 22 solo tackles, one forced fumble and one pass defended.
Ifeatu Melifonwu has filled in well during his absences, and Winfield hasn’t done enough to separate himself from that level of play when healthy.
Then there’s Riley Dixon, whose season has been rough in a different way. Tampa Bay brought him back knowing he was among the league’s worst punters last year, and that decision hasn’t paid off so far.
Dixon ranks 31st in the NFL in yards per punt at 44.4 and last in net yards per punt at 38.4. The Buccaneers’ defense has done its job, but Dixon hasn’t helped them flip the field, and that has already cost Tampa Bay at times this season.
The Bucs are sticking with him for now, but if they’re going to turn this season around, they’ll need a lot more from that spot and from several of the players who were supposed to drive the team forward.
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