Much was made about Jason Licht’s 2024 offseason, save one move: re-signing Chase McLaughlin. Licht was tasked with bringing back a bevy of Bucs potential in-house free agents. For the most part, all of those moves paid off.

Bucs K Chase McLaughlin – Photo by: USA Today

Quarterback Baker Mayfield re-signed and then proceeded to have a career-year, finishing with the highest single-season completion percentage and ranking in the top five in touchdowns and passing yards in a single season.

Wide receiver Mike Evans re-signed and proceeded to set a career high in yards per route run while also notching his record-setting 11th consecutive season of reaching 1,000 yards receiving and hitting double-digit touchdowns for the 6th time in his career.

Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. has been maligned with injuries this year in a season he will likely want to forget from a personal perspective.

But linebacker Lavonte David has had a solid season. Fantastic when you factor in his age. 122 tackles, nine for a loss, 5.5 sacks, three forced fumbles. He did his best to hold together a defense that lost multiple players on an almost weekly basis.

But the one player Licht retained who has gone almost completely under the radar was McLaughlin.

Bucs Get A Deal On Chase McLaughlin’s Contract

The Bucs originally signed Chase McLaughlin to compete for the kicker job prior to the 2023 season. He not only won the job but went on to a have a historic season. Coming off of a one-year contract, Licht needed to re-sign McLaughlin along with the more established stars on the roster. Now keep in mind just three years prior, Licht and assistant general manager Mike Greenberg had signed former kicker Ryan Succop to a three-year $12 million contract averaging $4 million per year.

Succop was coming off a season where he connected on 90.3% of his field goal attempts while hitting just one kick from beyond 50 yards. McLaughlin was coming off of a season in 2023 where he had connected on 93.6% of his field goal tries with seven coming from 50 or beyond. As a matter of fact, he had hit on 87.5% of his attempts from downtown.

Combine those results with a salary cap that was 26% higher than it was in 2021, and Chase had a great case for a much more lucrative deal than Succop’s. I had him projected for an average annual salary of $5.4 million. But somehow, someway, the Bucs retained McLaughlin’s services for just an extra $100k per season over where they landed Succop in 2021.

“Money” McLaughlin Is Re-Writing History Books

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and K Chase McLaughlin – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

For his encore, McLaughlin beat his own accuracy record for 2023 in 2024. After going 29-of-31 last year, he got one extra attempt this season. And he converted that extra field goal pushing his record-setting field goal percentage from 93.5% to 93.8%.

He maintained his accuracy from distance as well, hitting on eight of 10 attempts from 50 yards or more. McLaughlin is one of just six kickers with at least 10 attempts from that distance who have hit at an 80% rate or better.

McLaughlin ranks first overall in team history for field goal percentage. He is currently tied with Martin Gramatica and Connor Barth for the franchise lead in field goals made of 50+ yards with 15. Gramatica needed 24 attempts and six seasons to get his 15. Barth needed 23 and seven. McLaughlin has done it in just 15 and two, respectively.

He is quickly becoming the best kicker in franchise history, and it feels like no one really knows it…yet.

McLaughlin has been integral to several wins this season, starting in Week 2 against Detroit when his two field goals helped the Bucs to a four-point win in enemy territory. Fast forward to Week 13 when Tampa Bay defeated the Panthers in overtime 26-23, McLaughlin hit on 4-of-5, including a crucial 51-yarder as time expired that sent the game into extra time. Even in the Week 18 victory against the Saints, McLaughlin’s two field goals were crucial to Tampa Bay having a one-point lead late in the game before Bucky Irving’s touchdown put the game nearly out of reach.

With a reliable kicker who can hit from distance offensive coordinators can be a bit more aggressive and head coaches can have the peace of mind to feel good about point production. The field is stretched a bit further in terms of “scoring range.”

The team feels a bit lighter and freer. The Bucs have this in spades due to the leg of one man – Chase “Money” McLaughlin.