The Buccaneers have already turned the page in a lot of ways. They brought in a fresh wave of free agents, addressed needs in the draft and are staring ahead to 2026. But the NFL never really lets you live in the present for long.
Tampa Bay has some major 2027 decisions coming, along with a batch of smaller free agents and a few players on one-year deals who still need to prove they deserve another run in red and pewter. There are also a handful of Buccaneers who could cash in big if they make the right kind of noise in 2026.
Yaya Diaby is one of them. He has come close to reaching his ceiling, and the production has been good enough to keep him in the conversation - two seasons with seven sacks or more and plenty of pressure. Still, he has not fully crossed into elite edge-rusher territory.
That matters because the market still pays handsomely for players who live in the backfield. Spotrac has Diaby’s current estimated value at $18.1 million APY, and that number could climb if he keeps trending up.
Playing next to new draft pick Rueben Bain Jr. gives him a chance to feed off the extra disruption and finish more plays. If that happens, Diaby could be setting himself up for a bigger payday in 2027 and beyond.
Vita Vea is in a different kind of contract race. He wants an extension before the season starts, though there’s also Baker Mayfield in the mix as another player looking to re-up. Vea is 31, and that clock matters at a position as punishing as his.
Even with age creeping in, he remains a key piece of Tampa Bay’s run defense, and there really isn’t another player on the roster who brings what he does. If he turns in a strong 2026, the Buccaneers would likely be willing to lock him in for two or three more years. For now, though, it sounds like Tampa Bay may want more evidence before making that move.
Chris Godwin’s situation is even stranger. He signed a three-year, $66 million deal in 2025 and played the first year of it last season, but the third year is a club option. In other words, he is still playing for his place in Tampa Bay.
If the Buccaneers don’t exercise that $20,500,000 option, and if Godwin doesn’t produce, he could hit free agency next year. He was excellent in 2024 before dislocating his ankle in a nasty injury, then missed multiple games in 2025 while dealing with the effects of it.
Now he has to stay healthy and deliver as the slot receiver in offensive coordinator Zac Robinson’s offense. If he doesn’t, that option may never get picked up.
Then there’s Chase McLaughlin, who probably feels like the safest bet of the group - until you remember how unforgiving the kicker position can be. He has one year left on his current deal, and that means a rough stretch could change everything.
McLaughlin posted the worst field goal percentage of his Buccaneers career last year at 84.2%, though blocked kicks and other special teams issues were part of the story. He could easily bounce back and get back over the 90% mark in Tampa Bay. Or he could slip, and suddenly he’d be searching for his next job.
If he stays sharp, he could also put himself in line for even more money as one of the NFL’s top kickers. And that’s exactly what he wants.
In Other News...
Bucs Fans Wont Like Where Rueben Bain Lands In This Re-Draft
Rueben Bain Jr. already arrived in Tampa Bay with plenty of buzz, and Sports Illustrateds Justin Melo only added to the conversation by sketching out a 2026 NFL re-draft that keeps the edge rusher in the NFC South mix. The exercise is the kind of thing fans notice immediately because it invites a second look at how the draft board could have played out, especially for a Buccaneers team that has been watching Bain closely since draft weekend.
The bigger point for Tampa Bay is less about the hypothetical order than the reminder of how highly Bain is regarded around the league. He was viewed as a premium talent in the actual draft, and any alternate scenario that nudges him out of the Buccaneers hands naturally raises the question of what kind of pass-rush future the team would be building instead. For now, it is just a re-imagined board, but it is the sort of detail that keeps Bucs fans thinking about what might have been. [Read more 🡒]
New Buccaneers QB Coach Is Already Drawing Serious Buzz Around Baker Mayfield
The Buccaneers offensive staff has already taken on a different shape this offseason, with Zac Robinson stepping in as offensive coordinator after Josh Grizzard was fired and Chandler Whitmer arriving as the new quarterbacks coach. Whitmer comes with NFL experience from the Falcons and Chargers, and he now has the most important day-to-day assignment on the staff: working closely with Baker Mayfield as Tampa Bay tries to keep its offense on track heading into 2026.
Whitmer has wasted little time making his presence felt, with footwork becoming a central point of emphasis in offseason work. Mayfield has spoken highly of the coaching approach, and that kind of early buy-in matters for a quarterback entering another reset around him. It has also helped Whitmer draw attention beyond One Buc Place, with his name starting to surface as one of the assistants worth watching around the league. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers May Be Headed For A Brutal Tight End Decision
The Buccaneers are staring at another offseason roster puzzle at tight end, where the group has talent but not much certainty behind Cade Otton. Devin Culp, a seventh-round pick in 2024, is in the mix with Ko Kieft, Bauer Sharp and Payne Durham, but Tampa Bay still looks like a team that may need to keep searching for answers at the position.
What makes the situation tricky is how thin the margin is for everyone not already established. Otton has the clearest path, while the rest of the room is fighting for limited spots on a depth chart that could still change through free agency or the draft, leaving the Bucs with a decision that feels more practical than comfortable. [Read more 🡒]