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

48 days away from Bucs regular season kickoff
18 days away from Bucs preseason kickoff
2 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 with kicker Chase McLaughlin.

26 For ‘26: Chase McLaughlin Bucs Storylines In 2026

Can Chase McLaughlin Avoid A Slump, “Bounce Back” In 2026?

Over only three seasons, McLaughlin has established himself as one of the best kickers in Bucs history — if not the best. He’s certainly been the most accurate kicker in team history, as he heads into 2026 with a field goal percentage of 90.1%, which is a franchise best and more than 5% higher than Ryan Succop’s 84.8%.

So, how could you possibly characterize “Money McLaughlin” as someone who is looking for a bounce-back season in 2026? In a sense, it’s because he now falls victim to the high bar he’s set as a standard for what to expect from him. But it’s also OK to point out that while he was still largely reliable for Tampa Bay last year, the veteran kicker fell short of the numbers he put up in 2023 and 2024 — his first two seasons with the Bucs.

Bucs K Chase McLaughlin – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Back in 2023, he won the team’s kicking job and became the successor to Ryan Succop, who helped stabilize the kicking situation in Tampa Bay and was part of the Super Bowl LV run back in the 2020-2021 season. In that 2023 campaign, McLaughlin went 29-of-31, good for a 93.5% field goal percentage. He was also 7-of-8 from 50+ yards out, giving the Bucs range that they didn’t have with Succop, especially in 2022.

McLaughlin then went on to prove that he wasn’t a one-year wonder, connecting on 93.8% of his field goals (30-of-32) in 2024 while going 8-of-10 from 50+. Ultimately, a slow start in 2025 dragged down his numbers for his third season in Tampa. He went 32-of-38 overall — good for just an 84.2% field goal percentage — with four of those misses coming between Weeks 1-6. The other two misses came in Weeks 17 and 18, respectively.

Between Weeks 7-16, McLaughlin was perfect. And he was still an outstanding 11-of-12 from 50+ yards, continuing to show incredible range and serving as an extra weapon for the Bucs offense. He even knocked through a 65-yard field goal in Week 4, setting a new franchise record. But avoiding those kinds of down spells and maintaining his accuracy from distance will get him back to that elite level in 2026. It may not even qualify as a full “bounce-back” for a guy who was still very good a year ago. But he’s been better in the past, and now he’ll look to get back to those heights in his fourth campaign as a Buccaneer.

How High Will Chase McLaughlin Rise In The Bucs’ History Books This Year?

McLaughlin’s place among the best kickers in Bucs history, as well as his case for being the top kicker in franchise history, are already strong right now. But he can strengthen his résumé in 2026. In fact, by the end of his fourth year with Tampa Bay, he could be among the absolute best of the best, leaving no doubts as to his status among kickers in team history.

For starters, McLaughlin is four field goals away from passing Donald Igwebuike (94) for the fifth-most in Buccaneer history, while eight more will move him ahead of Matt Bryant (98) for the fourth-most. With 24 more field goals, he passes Connor Barth (114) for the third-most, while 27 would get him to the second-most — ahead of Michael Husted (117). At that point, he would trail only Martin Gramatica (137), the franchise’s all-time field goal leader.

There’s plenty of movement to come for McLaughlin among the Bucs’ all-time scoring leaders, too. He’s 25 points away from passing Igwebuike and Bryant (416) for the sixth-most points scored and 41 from moving ahead of Mike Alstott (432) for fifth. With 86 more points, he’ll pass Barth (477) for fourth, and 111 more will move him ahead of Husted (502) for third.

Bucs K Chase McLaughlin – Photo by: USA Today

Over the last three seasons, McLaughlin has averaged around 30 field goals and 131 points per year. If he hits those marks again, he would finish 2026 No. 2 in franchise history in field goals and sit as the third-leading scorer in Bucs history.

From there, a new contract (more on that in a minute) would put him within range of Gramatica’s franchise record for field goals. He would also be in a good spot to pass Gramatica for second on the list of all-time leading scorers, but he faces an uphill climb to become the leading scorer in team history, as Mike Evans stands atop the leaderboard with 662 points. But a long enough contract beyond 2026 and sustained success could even put McLaughlin in position to surpass Evans, an all-time great.

How Well Will Chase McLaughlin Set Himself Up For A Third Contract With The Bucs?

The Bucs have some big-time players whose contract situations they’ll have to figure out between now and March. Quarterback Baker Mayfield, nose tackle Vita Vea and outside linebacker Yaya Diaby are getting much of the focus in those conversations these days. But McLaughlin is sneakily right there with them.

The 30-year-old kicker has been extremely valuable to Tampa Bay over the last three years, and as things stand, you would expect the team to work something out regarding a third contract for him. He initially signed a one-year deal for the 2023 season for $1.13 million, then got a three-year, $12.3 million contract after the 2023 campaign.

So, McLaughlin is in a contract year. What will the Bucs do? An early extension was something they could’ve realistically been considering, but once the Cowboys inked Brandon Aubrey to a four-year, $28 million deal that reset the kicker market earlier this offseason, would Tampa Bay be better off waiting it out and having McLaughlin play out his contract year?

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

Assuming McLaughlin turns in another season like the ones he’s had between 2023 and 2025 for the Bucs, he should be due for a third contract with the team — as well as a raise. Anything less than what his standard has been makes it interesting when it comes time for negotiations.

But knowing what we know now, the Bucs can’t afford to let McLaughlin out of the building in 2027. Look no further than the team’s kicking situation for much of the 2010s. Tampa Bay found a solution to its kicking woes with Ryan Succop in 2020 and struck gold with McLaughlin in 2023. Considering the latter only just turned 30 this past April, he needs to remain in red, white and pewter for as long as his reliability and range remain.

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

DEFENSE:

Yaya Diaby
Rueben Bain Jr.
A’Shawn Robinson
Calijah Kancey
Vita Vea
Alex Anzalone
Josiah Trotter
Zyon McCollum
Benjamin Morrison
Jacob Parrish
Antoine Winfield Jr.
Tykee Smith