Tampa Bay, Atlanta and Carolina all spent part of Monday sorting through roster questions, injury updates and a few bigger-picture decisions that are still unresolved.
In Tampa Bay, Baker Mayfield remains on the final year of his deal after no extension got done this offseason, but Todd Bowles made it clear the Buccaneers aren’t expecting any dip in the quarterback’s edge. Bowles said Mayfield is driven no matter what the contract situation looks like: “Baker’s pissed off every year and every game.
He wants to beat the piss out of somebody. This is nothing new.
It’s a normal deal for him, whether it was contract or no contract. We’ll get the best Baker Mayfield that you can probably get.”
Bowles also gave updates on two receivers working back from injuries. Emeka Egbuka, dealing with a toe issue, and Jalen McMillan, who is coming back from a knee injury, are both moving in the right direction.
For now, the Buccaneers are waiting to see how they respond before making any call on next week’s availability. Bowles said, “Headed in the right direction.
I don’t know how fast. You know, I would have a better gauge the next week.
They’re moving forward every day, so we’ll see next week.”
Atlanta is still sorting out its quarterback situation, too. Falcons GM Ian Cunningham said the team has not yet settled on a starter between Michael Penix and Tua Tagovailoa. “When the coaches are ready, when the players are ready, we will make that decision,” Cunningham said.
The Falcons ended up carrying four quarterbacks - Penix, Tagovailoa, Cooper Rush and Jack Strand - and Cunningham pointed to both injury concerns and performance as reasons Rush and Strand made the cut. Atlanta also added DT Gervon Dexter and claimed LB Jared Ivey off waivers, with Cunningham saying the team was after “big, powerful, rugged, explosive, violent players,” via Kendall.
In Carolina, Dan Morgan said the Panthers are “committed” to keeping five tight ends on the active roster. He also laid out the current plan at inside linebacker, with Bobby Okereke set to start opposite Devin Lloyd.
Morgan said the team uses a “formula” to gauge how likely players are to get claimed on waivers, and that gave the Panthers confidence there was a “good chance” they could bring back second-year WR Ja’seem Reed on the practice squad. He also said undrafted QB Haynes King is expected to stick around for the “foreseeable future,” and the team didn’t want to expose him to the practice squad market.
Morgan added that OT Ikem Ekwonu, OT Taylor Moton and DT Turk Wharton should all be available at some point this season, though he didn’t have a timeline and said, “When that is, I don’t know.” He also expects RB Trevor Etienne, LB Bam Martin-Scott and OL Brady Christensen to return eventually.
On the injury front, Canales said RB Jonathon Brooks missed Monday’s practice because of soreness, while TE Darren Waller is still being brought along gradually.
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 🡒]
Buccaneers Look Poised To Capitalize In The NFC Souths Messiest Race
The NFC South is shaping up as one of the leagues most compressed races, and Tampa Bay sits in the middle of it with the faint edge that often matters in a division this messy. Predictive analyst Austin Mock sees all four teams finishing the 2026 season in a narrow band of six to eight wins, which is about as close as a division can get without turning into a coin flip. In that kind of setup, the Buccaneers status as slight favorites is less about a runaway projection and more about being the team best positioned to navigate the uncertainty.
Every club in the division comes with its own questions, from key absences to broader roster concerns, and thats what makes the path so slippery for everyone involved. Still, if eight wins is enough to take the division again, Tampa Bay does not need to separate itself by much to stay in the race, only to avoid the kind of midseason wobble that can hand control to someone else. In a year where the standings may stay crowded deep into December, the Buccaneers margin for error could be just as important as their ceiling. [Read more 🡒]