In 2024, the Buccaneers won their fourth straight NFC South title – a feat dimmed by the division’s struggles in recent years – but lost in the wild-card round. The team again opted for continuity this offseason, extending general manager Jason Licht and head coach Todd Bowles. The Bucs also rewarded quarterback Baker Mayfield with more guaranteed money after back-to-back Pro Bowl seasons.
Licht retained key talent – including star wide receiver Chris Godwin on a hometown discount – and stocked up on premium positions in the draft. With succession plans in place for the starters who departed in free agency, the team’s biggest loss this offseason was not a player, but a coach: offensive coordinator Liam Coen. He left Tampa to take the head coaching job in Jacksonville after a back-and-forth saga that may have frustrated the team’s decision-makers. Can replacement Josh Grizzard — the Bucs’ fourth play-caller in four years — keep the the offense in high gear as a pursuit of a fifth straight division title begins?
Extensions and restructures:
The Buccaneers made multiple moves with Mayfield’s contract this offseason, starting with a traditional restructure in April. The team converted $18MM of Mayfield’s $30MM salary to a signing bonus that reduced his cap hit by $14.4MM and added $3.6MM to the four remaining years of the deal.
A few months later, Licht expressed a desire to keep Mayfield past the end of his contract in 2026, but no extension materialized. Instead, Tampa Bay converted $30MM of his 2026 salary into two roster bonuses.
The first, worth a fully guaranteed $13MM, is due in 2026 but will prorate across the team’s salary cap starting in 2025. That decreased Mayfield’s cap hit by $10.4MM in 2026 with $2.6MM added to 2025 and each of the three void years after 2026 (via OverTheCap). The second roster bonus is worth $17MM and guarantees in early 2026, per Pewter Report’s Joshua Quiepo.
As a result of these moves, Mayfield’s 2025 cap hit decreased by $11.8MM (to $26.48MM) and his 2026 cap hit decreased by $6.8MM (to $38.98MM). The Bucs also pushed $18.6MM into void years that increased the dead money scheduled to hit the team’s 2027 salary cap to $30.15MM. For a Bucs team that needed to swim in the shallow end of the QB pool in 2023 — thanks to the Tom Brady $35MM retirement bill brought on by void years — a clear incentive exists to extend Mayfield before that point.
Tampa Bay isn’t necessarily tied to Mayfield in 2026 by these contract restructures, but the tweaks indicate the team is planning for him to start for at least two more years. The release of 2021 second-round pick Kyle Trask and the Bucs’ subsequent signing of once-retired Teddy Bridgewater as their new backup were additional signals that Mayfield would keep his job through 2026.
Mayfield, meanwhile, received $30MM in new guarantees along with an improved cashflow, both well-deserved rewards for an elite 2024. He originally signed with the Buccaneers in 2023 on a $4MM “prove it” deal and blew expectations out of the water with his first 4,000-yard season. That earned him his current three-year, $100MM contract — agreed to a day before the 2024 legal tampering period — that seemed like a good value at the time and aged well for the Bucs after just one year. Mayfield has seen Sam Darnold and Geno Smith eclipse his middle-class QB terms, and the Bucs appear prepared to enter into extension talks before his deal expires.
Among all quarterbacks in 2024, Mayfield ranked third in passing yards (4,500), second in passing touchdowns (41), and fourth in passer rating (106.8), all career-best marks. He did also throw a league-high 16 interceptions, but that didn’t stop him from earning the first MVP votes of his career. With his contract up after 2026, a similar performance this season will put the 30-year-old passer in a strong negotiating position next offseason.
Free agency additions:
- Haason Reddick, OLB. One year, $14MM ($12MM guaranteed)
- Riley Dixon, P. One year, $3MM ($3MM guaranteed)
- Kindle Vildor, CB. One year, $1.34MM, ($1.2MM guaranteed)
- Charlie Heck, T. One year, $1.57MM, ($400K guaranteed)
- Teddy Bridgewater, QB. One year, $1.26MM
The Buccaneers’ only major free agency addition was a dice roll on Haason Reddick with the hopes that he can recapture his pre-Jets form. Reddick’s holdout limited him to 10 disappointing games in 2024, with only one sack, but he reached double-digit sacks in each of his previous four seasons.
That production came with three different teams, so there’s hope that Reddick can quickly acclimate to Tampa Bay’s defense and consistently impact opposing quarterbacks. However, his 7.6% pass rush win rate in 2024 was almost half his 14.0% win rate in 2023, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Still, Reddick could be worth the risk with the rest of Tampa Bay’s pass rushers returning in 2025 including ascending talents YaYa Diaby and Calijah Kancey, both of whom contributed 7.5 sacks last season. Diaby’s official contributions – which also included 11 tackles for loss – somewhat underrepresent his pass-rushing performance; he was credited with 70 pressures (via PFF), tied with Micah Parsons and Greg Rousseau for seventh-most among edge rushers last year. Kancey, meanwhile, took a clear step forward from his four-sack rookie year and will look to pair with the always-imposing Vita Vea as an disruptive pair of defensive linemen.
This season will determine if Reddick can return to the upper echelon of EDGE earners, as last year’s failed holdout proved costly. As the position’s market exploded via the Parsons, Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt deals, Reddick was not in a realistic position to command more than what he did.
Despite Reddick powering an Eagles pursuit at the 1984 Bears’ single-season sack record in 2022, Philadelphia chose Josh Sweat over him to build around in 2024. Amid constant ownership intervention, then-Jets GM Joe Douglas balked at a post-trade extension largely due to Reddick’s age. Set to turn 31 in September, the former first-round pick faces a crucial year regarding his future value. In addition to Watt’s megadeal, Danielle Hunter scored another big guarantee at 31. Reddick will attempt to cash in again on the back of a strong Bucs season, potentially joining fellow accomplished (and disgruntled) 30-something Trey Hendrickson on the 2026 market.
The only other starter signed in free agency was veteran punter Riley Dixon. The Buccaneers cycled through three punters in 2024, none of whom cleared 40 net yards per punt, so they opted for reliability in the 32-year-old Dixon. The 10th-year veteran’s fully guaranteed $3MM deal quickly looked like an excellent value after the positional market eclipsed $4MM later in the offseason. He will look to add some consistency to Tampa Bay’s special teams operations this year.
Bridgewater has replaced Trask as Mayfield’s backup. This will be the Miami native-turned-high school coach’s eighth NFL team. The former Vikings first-rounder unretired last year to rejoin the Lions, replacing Hendon Hooker as Detroit’s QB2 late in the season. Bridgewater should probably be considered an upgrade on Trask, even if he is a year-to-year proposition at this point. Mayfield has proven durable in Tampa, making every start since his 2023 signing, but he has run into injury trouble in the past.
Bridgewater, 32, has made 65 career starts. Although Trask competed with Mayfield for the Bucs’ 2023 starting job, the team asking Bridgewater to come in late in the offseason reflects a lack of faith in the former second-round pick.
Re-signings:
- Chris Godwin, WR. Three years, $66MM ($44MM guaranteed)
- Ben Bredeson, G. Three years, $22MM ($12.5MM guaranteed)
- Lavonte David, ILB. One year, $9MM ($9MM guaranteed)
- Anthony Nelson, OLB. Two years, $10MM ($4.5MM guaranteed)
- Greg Gaines, DT. One year, $3.5MM ($3MM guaranteed)
- Sterling Shepard, WR. One year, $1.5MM, ($500K guaranteed)
Godwin started the 2024 season on pace for a career year before a dislocated ankle in Week 7 forced him to undergo season-ending surgery. At the time of the injury, Godwin’s 576 yards ranked second in the NFL. Despite an uncertain return timeline, he was expected to draw heavy interest in free agency, even with several other well-regarded veterans hitting the market. A February agreement to delay the void date on Godwin’s contract was an early sign that he would stay in Tampa Bay, but the Patriots and the Steelers — among other teams — tried to change his mind.
New England came in with a $30MM-AAV offer that would have made Godwin the sixth-highest-paid receiver in the league. Pittsburgh also expressed interest before pivoting to D.K. Metcalf. But Godwin declined to chase the biggest check and agreed to a three-year, $66MM extension hours before the legal tampering window opened on March 10.
The decision was a clear act of loyalty by the longtime Buccaneer, who began his NFL career in Tampa as a third-round pick in 2017. He was franchise-tagged twice at the end of his rookie deal and reached a $20MM-AAV extension off the second tag in 2022. His new deal is an increase of just $2MM per year, lagging well behind cap inflation and the receiver market as a whole. After all of the offseason dust settled, Godwin’s $22MM average salary only ranked 21st among all wideouts. Though, his $44MM in fully guaranteed money is a top-10 figure.
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This also marked the second time the Bucs paid Godwin after a major injury. ACL and MCL tears sustained in December 2021 preceded his second Tampa Bay franchise tag, and the team showed faith via the March 2022 extension. But the perennial Mike Evans sidekick will not be ready for Week 1 like he was three years ago.
Godwin’s injury outlook remained unclear throughout the offseason, but he was able to pass a physical before final roster cuts and will begin the season on the Buccaneers’ 53-man roster. Even though the 29-year-old wideout — the second-leading receiver in franchise history — avoided the reserve/PUP list, he is not expected to play until October.
Bredeson earned the Bucs’ starting left guard job on a “prove it” deal in 2024 and played almost every snap in the regular season. However, he finished as one of PFF’s lowest-graded players at the position and accepted a below-market deal to stay in Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers seemed to agree that he struggled by offering him just $7.33MM per year, only the 27th-highest AAV among guards.
Bredeson’s deal still marked a sizable raise, as it includes $12.5MM in fully guaranteed money. The deal guaranteed Bredeson $5MM of his 2026 salary, giving him some security for another year. The Buccaneers will be hoping that continuity along the interior of the offensive line with center Graham Barton and right guard Cody Mauch can help Bredeson improve into a long-term starter. If he does, his contract would become an excellent value, but another poor year could lead Tampa Bay to seek an improvement next offseason.
After considering retirement, David decided to return for his 15th season in Tampa. David drew outside interest in free agency, but there was little question that he would stay with his only NFL team.
David’s fully guaranteed one-year, $9MM deal, signed on March 7, matched that of fellow 2012 draftee Bobby Wagner, who re-signed with the Commanders a day earlier. (The pair of former All-Pros are two of 11 players left from their draft class.) David has logged 198 starts for the Buccaneers, meaning he is all but certain to cross the rare 200-game mark in 2024. The stalwart second-level defender sits comfortably in third for all-time Bucs starts (behind Hall of Famers Ronde Barber and Derrick Brooks).
This year could be a swan song for the 35-year-old linebacker. He has been somewhat underrated in his career, earning a Pro Bowl nod only once (2015) and All-Pro recognition (first-team in 2013, second-team in 2016 and 2020). He also achieved the ultimate goal with a Super Bowl victory, also in 2020. Though David may lack the resume for the Hall of Fame — though, a case could emerge one day — he is an obvious candidate to join the Buccaneers’ Ring of Honor after his retirement.
Notable losses:
- Shaquil Barrett, OLB
- K.J. Britt, ILB
- Jack Browning, P (waived)
- Mike Edwards, S
- Robert Hainsey, C
- Royce Newman, G
- Justin Skule, T
- Tavierre Thomas, DB
- Kyle Trask, QB (released)
- Jordan Whitehead, S (option bonus declined)
At this point, Barrett’s name probably means more than his impact. He was never quite the same after tearing his Achilles in 2022, his age-30 season. He recovered in time to start 16 games in 2023, but his production waned and the Buccaneers made him a 2024 cap casualty to wrap a five-season stint.
Barrett then signed with the Dolphins during the 2024 offseason before abruptly retiring over the summer. He changed his mind during the regular season, but Miami wasn’t willing to reactivate him. He was eventually released and re-signed with the Buccaneers but only played 17 snaps in two appearances (including the playoffs). Barrett has declared an intention to play in 2025, but there’s been no news on that front since April.
A 2021 fifth-round pick, Britt cut his teeth on special teams before breaking into the starting lineup at the end of his third year. He started 11 of his 14 appearances in 2024, but made few impact plays. His spot next to David will be filled by 2023 fifth-rounder SirVocea Dennis. He appeared to be on the verge of overtaking Britt last year before a shoulder injury forced him onto injured reserve, ultimately ending his season. In free agency, Britt signed a veteran-minimum deal with the Dolphins.
Browning was one of the Bucs’ three struggling punters in 2024. He was retained on the roster entering the offseason, but one day after the team signed Dixon, it waived Browning.
Hainsey, a 2021 third-rounder, converted from tackle to center as a rookie and stepped into a starting role the following year after Ryan Jensen‘s career-altering knee injury. Hainsey started every game in 2022 and 2023 but failed to impress the team’s decision-makers. In the offseason, they used a first-round pick on Hainsey’s replacement, Duke center Graham Barton, making it clear that the the fourth-year lineman would be hitting free agency after the season. In free agency, Hainsey followed Liam Coen to the Jaguars on a three-year, $21MM deal.
Newman entered the 2024 season as the Bucs’ backup guard, but healthy seasons from Bredeson and Mauch kept him on the sidelines for most of the year. Skule, the team’s swing tackle, played a more important role with four starts on the right side and one on the left. He’ll fill the same role in Minnesota this year.
Thomas, 29, was a core special teams contributor for Tampa Bay last season. Between his lack of defensive role and the team’s desire to get younger at cornerback combine, it wasn’t surprising to see him depart in free agency. Like Skule, he’s taken his talents to Minnesota.
In 2024, Whitehead returned to Tampa, the team that drafted him in 2018, after a two-year sojourn with the Jets. He stepped back into a starting role next to All-Pro Antoine Winfield Jr. with then-rookie Tykee Smith dropping into the slot.
Whitehead started 11 games before a four-week stint on injured reserve for a pectoral injury. He returned to start in Week 17 before a car accident forced him to end the year on the non-football injury list. Tampa Bay declined to pick up his option bonus as a result of his medical situation, making him a free agent. Whitehead has since been medically cleared, but he’s still searching for his next club. The Buccaneers, meanwhile, are moving Smith back to a more traditional safety role with rookie Jacob Parrish expected to man the slot.
Draft:
- Round 1, No. 19: Emeka Egbuka (WR, Ohio State) (signed)
- Round 2, No. 53: Benjamin Morrison (CB, Notre Dame) (signed)
- Round 3, No. 84: Jacob Parrish (CB, Kansas State) (signed)
- Round 4, No. 121: David Walker (OLB, Central Arkansas) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 157: Elijah Roberts (OLB, SMU) (signed)
- Round 7, No. 235: Tez Johnson (WR ,Oregon) (signed)
The Buccaneers kept their interest in Egbuka under wraps before selecting him with the 19th overall pick in April’s draft. Receiver didn’t seem like a primary need with the offense returning its top seven pass catchers from last season. Tampa Bay had already extended Mike Evans in 2024 and re-signed Chris Godwin before the draft. Third-round pick Jalen McMillan also showed promise as a rookie, averaging 4.8 receptions and 63.2 yards over the last four weeks of the season.
Regardless, Licht went after the team’s top-ranked target in Egbuka, a three-year starter at Ohio State, a program known for producing elite NFL receiving talent. His resume included a pair of 1,000-yard, 10-touchdown seasons and an all-around skillset from the slot that could fit in many NFL offenses. Leaving Columbus as the powerhouse program’s all-time receiving leader, the 6-foot-1 wideout drew interest from the Broncos, Texans, and Rams, but the Bucs were positioned ahead of them all at No. 19.
Evans’ game seems ageless, and Godwin was playing some of the best football of his career before going down last year. However, Evans is 31 years old and Godwin is coming off the second major injury of his career. They might represent the present of the Bucs’ receiver room, but Egbuka represents the long-term future.
Egbuka will be needed early, as Godwin and McMillan will be on the shelf to start the season. The Bucs stashed McMillan on IR after he suffered a “severely sprained neck” in the team’s preseason finale. The 2024 third-round pick, who scored seven touchdowns in Tampa Bay’s final five games last season, will miss extensive 2025 time.
Morrison was considered a potential first-round pick heading into the 2024 season, his third at Notre Dame. A season-ending labral hip tear fueled concerns about his injury history, which featured a similar injury in high school and shoulder surgery in March 2024. That dropped Morrison to the Buccaneers in the second half of Round 2.
He recovered from his hip surgery in time for training camp and may have had a chance to push fourth-year corner Zyon McCollum for a starting job if not for a hamstring injury. Morrison was sidelined for all three preseason games and may not be ready for Week 1. Availability always presented a risk in drafting Morrison. Missing so much of training camp will make it hard for the CB prospect to carve out a role early in the year, but if his hamstring issue proves to be minor, he could get on the field later in the season.
Parrish primarily played on the outside at Kansas State but was projected by some draft experts to slide into the slot. The Buccaneers had the same vision, drafting Parrish in the third round and quickly converting him into a nickel. He emerged as a potential starter in spring practices and appears to have secured the job heading into the regular season.
The Buccaneers will be hoping Morrison can stay healthy and start opposite Jamel Dean on the boundary in 2026. That would likely keep Parrish as the starting nickel. However, if Morrison’s injury woes continue, Parrish could emerge as a full-time starter in his second season. He could return to his college position in base personnel and bump inside for nickel and dime formations.
Other:
After taking the Bucs’ offensive coordinator job in 2024, Coen emerged as one of the Sean McVay disciples to find success in the NFL. He was lauded for continuing Baker Mayfield’s midcareer ascent and helping to ensure the Buccaneers had a post-Brady future under center. That drew the attention of the Jaguars, who launched a massive search for a new head coach after moving on from Doug Pederson.
Like Jacksonville’s other top candidates, Coen considered the continued presence of general manager Trent Baalke to be a poison pill for his interest in the job. He turned down a second interview and quickly agreed to terms with the Buccaneers to join the ranks of the NFL’s highest-paid coordinators. Jaguars owner Shad Khan was undeterred and removed Baalke in the hopes of reviving his chances with his preferred future coach.
Suddenly holding enormous leverage, Coen was drawn back into negotiations in Jacksonville. That set off a dramatic day of reports about Coen’s physical location and communication with the Buccaneers. A round of secret Jaguars negotiations ensued. Ultimately, the Jags made an offer that Coen couldn’t refuse: a $13MM per year salary and the ability to choose the next general manager. He said yes.
The Buccaneers were understandably frustrated by Coen’s back-and-forth, especially after he twice delayed the signing of his new Tampa Bay OC contract. He told Licht and assistant general manager Mike Greenberg that he was handling a personal matter; in reality, he was finalizing his deal with the Jaguars.
As a result, Tampa Bay didn’t allow any of their assistant coaches to follow Coen to Jacksonville. Coen also tried to poach Greenberg as his handpicked GM, a move the Bucs could not block. The Jaguars requested an interview, but a day later, the longtime Bucs cap guru informed them he would stay in Tampa.
The Bucs interviewed a series of OC candidates before installing Grizzard, their 2024 pass-game coordinator, as Coen’s replacement. Grizzard was a somewhat unexpected hire given that he only arrived in Tampa the year prior.
Grizzard spent his first seven seasons as an NFL coach in Miami and survived multiple head coaching changes. Mike McDaniel retained him in 2022 and the two found new ways to unleash Tyreek Hill and quickly developed Jaylen Waddle into a worthy No. 2. Grizzard joined the Bucs’ staff in 2024; in his first year, Mayfield and the passing offense as a whole ranked among the best in the league.
As OC, he will be challenged right away with Godwin and Wirfs both sidelined to start the regular season. This technically represents continuity for Mayfield, as Grizzard was on staff last season. But the former No. 1 overall pick will be tied to a sixth play-caller since 2021. Mayfield helped Coen and Dave Canales climb to HC positions; the Bucs will hope that string halts at least for a year in an effort to give their quarterback overdue continuity.
A few months after the Coen dust settled, the Bucs continued to show faith in Licht and Bowles. The length of Licht’s extension remains unknown, but Bowles’ added three years to his deal, keeping him in Tampa Bay until 2028.
Licht has grown into one of the NFL’s best GMs since he took the job in 2014. He was an inconsistent drafter in his first few years but seemed to figure it out in 2018. Since then, he has been one of the best talent evaluators in the league. In 2025, a league-high 82.5% of the Bucs’ 53-man roster consists of homegrown talent, per OverTheCap’s Jason Fitzgerald.
However, Licht struggled to stabilize the team’s quarterback situation. He drafted Jameis Winston with the No. 1 overall pick in 2015, but his rollercoaster performance under center kept the team out of the playoffs for the duration of his rookie deal. Then, opportunity struck.
Licht had already coaxed Bruce Arians out of retirement in 2019, and in 2020, he seized the chance to sign Tom Brady. Finally building around a championship-caliber QB, Licht quickly stocked the Bucs’ roster with veteran talent. Combined with recent hits in the draft – including home-run picks in rookies Wirfs and Antoine Winfield Jr. – Tampa Bay journeyed to a Super Bowl. The team tried to run it back with Arians, Brady and its entire Super Bowl starting lineup in 2021 but lost in the divisional round.
Arians’ mid-offseason 2022 retirement gave Bowles the chance to step back into a head coaching role after coordinating some excellent Bucs defenses dating back to 2019. He essentially held onto the DC role as well. The second-chance HC has fended off job security-based rumors and is now on OC No. 4 in four years, but the Bucs have continued to book playoff berths on their sideline leader’s watch.
Brady retired after Tampa Bay lost in the 2022 wild-card round, but Licht and Bowles quickly retooled by signing Mayfield and hiring Coen. Both turned out to be sound decisions as the Buccaneers won the third and fourth division titles in a row in 2023 and 2024.
Top 10 cap charges for 2025:
- Baker Mayfield, CB: $26.48MM
- Mike Evans, WR: $25.36MM
- Vita Vea, NT: $22.47MM
- Jamel Dean, CB : $15.14MM
- Haason Reddick, EDGE: $13.18MM
- Chris Godwin, WR: $12.39MM
- Tristan Wirfs, OT: $11.5MM
- Antoine Winfield, S: $9.14MM
- Lavonte David, LB: $9MM
- Calijah Kancey, DT: 3.95MM
Although the Bucs pushed the Lions in the ’23 divisional round, they have remained a second-tier contender since Brady’s final season. Wirfs’ expected early-season return will give the team all five of its offensive line starters back, and even with McMillan down with the concerning neck injury, Mayfield having an Evans-Godwin-Egbuka trio to target presents a quality setup in Grizzard’s first play-calling year. There are plenty of reasons for optimism in Tampa.
The NFC South might not be as much of a cakewalk with intriguing young offenses in Atlanta and Carolina, but the Buccaneers remain the favorites to win the division. Once again, their true test will likely come in the playoffs. It will be interesting to see if Mayfield, the Super Bowl LV holdovers and Licht’s collection of younger talent can help move the Bucs onto the Super Bowl LX radar.
