The countdown to the Bucs’ 2026 season is on. Right now, we’re:

65 days away from Bucs regular season kickoff
35 days away from Bucs preseason kickoff
19 days away from Bucs training camp

In the lead-up to training camp, Pewter Report’s Bailey Adams will be diving into storylines for 26 key figures who will be crucial to the Bucs’ success in 2026.

Today, the series continues as we flip over to the defensive side of the ball, first focusing on outside linebacker Yaya Diaby.

26 For ‘26: Yaya Diaby Bucs Storylines In 2026

Can Yaya Diaby Finally Reach Double-Digit Sacks In 2026?

The question has been surrounding Diaby for three seasons now: Can he become a double-digit sacker for the Bucs? Pewter Report has talked and written a whole lot about his double-digit sack potential (here, here and here, for starters), but is 2026 the year he finally reaches that threshold that every pass rusher aims for when a new season arrives? There are plenty of reasons to believe it’ll finally happen for the 27-year-old in his fourth NFL season.

Bucs OLB Yaya Diaby – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

For one, Diaby has hit the seven-sack mark twice in his first three years, totaling 7.5 as a rookie in 2023 despite only starting for a portion of the season and tallying seven in 2025. He posted 30 pressures as a rookie, hit 70 in 2024 and came through with another 62 last year. His pressure numbers over the last couple of years have been up there among some of the league’s best, so the opportunities have been there for the taking. And that’s been without much help off the other edge.

The selection of former Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. with the No. 15 overall pick back in April should be huge for the Bucs defense, and there may not be another singular player within the unit who benefits more from the rookie’s presence than Diaby. Remember how direct Diaby was with his words at the end of the 2025 season? He called for hungrier pass rushers and admitted that he sometimes felt like he was out there by himself. That won’t be the case anymore in 2026.

Not only did the team add Bain, who is a fierce pass rusher who will get his own sacks but also serve as a force multiplier for those around him, but it also added veteran Al-Quadin Muhammad via free agency this offseason after he had an 11-sack season playing opposite Aidan Hutchinson in Detroit last year. Throw David Walker, last year’s fourth-round pick, into the mix after his return from a season-ending knee injury and there’s more depth at outside linebacker for the Bucs than there’s been in years. When Anthony Nelson is relegated to being your No. 5, that speaks to improved depth in the room.

Diaby should see huge benefits from the improved depth within the group, as opposing offenses will have more pass rushers to worry about. Not only that, but those pass rushers will flush quarterbacks his way and also give Diaby a chance to stay fresh over the course of each game and throughout the season. All of that — combined with the natural ascension the 2023 third-round pick has been on during his career — should yield his first-ever NFL season with double-digit sacks. Will that come to fruition? Time will tell. But this is the best shot Diaby has had to prove he has that potential in him.

Will Yaya Diaby Be A First-Time Captain For The Bucs In 2026?

The Bucs have some big shoes to fill in terms of leadership on their defense this season after the retirement of 14-year veteran, longtime captain and career Buccaneer Lavonte David. When the time comes to choose team captains for the 2026 season, David will no longer be there as an obvious choice. He was a lock to wear the captain’s “C” for so long, but now it’ll be someone new doing so this year. Could that someone new be Diaby?

Bucs OLB Yaya Diaby – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Well before last season began, Diaby talked about stepping up as a leader in the locker room, even going as far as telling David that he was going to help the veteran lead the Bucs in 2025. It seemed as if he followed through on that goal in 2025 even without wearing the “C” patch on his jersey. With David gone now, there’s a void, and you can bet that Diaby will be looking to fill that void, captainship or no captainship.

The fourth-year pro has a case to be named a captain for this Tampa Bay team in 2026, especially after the way he stepped up and spoke with conviction following the team’s collapse down the stretch last year. In addition to what he said about feeling alone out there in rushing the passer, he also preached the importance of everyone on defense actually being bought in, plus he was one of the players who openly questioned the number of walk-through practices the Bucs had and stated his belief that it hurt the team in the end. Three players shared their thoughts on that, but Diaby was the only one who went fully on the record.

That was a very public display of leadership from Diaby, and the fact that he’s been the team’s leading sacker in two of his three seasons and has played in 51 out of a possible 51 games during his career gives him some added credibility as well. Not to mention, he’s 27 years old and entering his fourth year with the Bucs, which makes him a rare mix of a young player and one who has experience, particularly within Todd Bowles’ defense and within the organization.

Bucs OLB Yaya Diaby – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Diaby will have some competition when it comes to earning captainship on the defensive side of the ball. Vita Vea, one of the longest-tenured Bucs and the longest-tenured member of the defense, is likely to earn the “C” again in 2026. Antoine Winfield Jr. is a three-year captain himself and is likely to retain that role this year, too. So, that probably only leaves one spot. Who gets it? When he retired, David spoke highly of Tykee Smith’s leadership and potential for captaincy in his absence while also mentioning Diaby and Calijah Kancey. Veteran inside linebacker Alex Anzalone will have a case despite being a newcomer, too.

Regardless of if he is a captain or not, expect Diaby to be one of the loudest voices and biggest leaders for this Buccaneer team.

When Will Yaya Diaby’s Contract Situation Be Cleared Up?

The lingering storyline surrounding Diaby as the 2026 season approaches has to do with his future. He seemed to be a potential candidate for an early contract extension like the ones Tristan Wirfs, Luke Goedeke and Zyon McCollum have gotten in recent years, but general manager Jason Licht has offered little in response to questions about a new contract for his No. 1 pass rusher. It could still be coming ahead of training camp or perhaps even into camp, or maybe Tampa Bay will make Diaby play out the final year of his rookie contract.

If it’s the latter, it’ll give Diaby even more motivation to break out in a big way and smash through that 10-sack threshold for the first time in his career. Of course, given the Bucs’ list of pending free agents along with Diaby, a monstrous season for the ascending pass rusher could make things really interesting for the team’s decision makers. Well, interesting and potentially difficult/problematic.

Bucs OLB Yaya Diaby – Photo by: Cliff Welch P/R

Quarterback Baker Mayfield is in a contract year himself, as are defensive tackle Vita Vea and kicker Chase McLaughlin, who remains extremely valuable to the Bucs. Could Vea’s apparent “hold-in” over his desire for a pay raise or new contract be holding up a possible early extension for Diaby? Either way, there are a lot of mouths that need to be fed by the time free agency rolls around, so how will this play out for No. 0? We’ll have to wait and see.

What if it comes down to a tough decision, though? Would Tampa Bay prioritize Vea, its 2018 first-round pick who is entering Year 9 with the team and is still an essential part of the defense despite hitting his 30s? Or would the team go with the younger Diaby, who is reaching the prime of his career at a premium position (one the Bucs have struggled to adequately fill for a while now and finally have two promising young starters)? Pewter Report’s Josh Queipo wrote about this recently and predicted that the team would go with Diaby, which would make good sense. Though 2026 could influence that decision if it does come down to one or the other.

As far as what a potential new contract for Diaby might look like? Queipo’s projection for him is along the lines of what Odafe Oweh just signed for with the Commanders: four years for $96 million. When he gets that potential extension remains up in the air, and it may be something that lingers into the 2027 calendar year.

Catch Up On Previous Installments Of Bailey Adams’ 26 For ’26 Series

OFFENSE:

Baker Mayfield
Bucky Irving
Kenny Gainwell
Chris Godwin Jr.
Emeka Egbuka
Jalen McMillan
Cade Otton
Tristan Wirfs
Ben Bredeson
Graham Barton
Cody Mauch
Luke Goedeke