Now that the Bucs are past the 2026 NFL Draft, we can start to look at their cash position for 2027 and beyond. We know the Glazers like to keep cash spending tied to the league-wide salary cap. With this year’s cap landing at $301.2 million, an 8% jump in 2027 puts the working budget around $325 million.

What’s Already On The Books In 2027

After accounting for the recent draft picks and undrafted free agent signings, the Bucs should have 46 players under contract for 2027 at a price tag of around $183 million. Assuming a salary cap of $325 million, they have $142 million left in cash for free agents, draft picks, extensions, practice squad players and operating room.

I’m going to estimate draft pick compensation at $35 million, operating room at $7.5 million and practice squad compensation at $5.5 million. That leaves $94 million for contract extensions and free agents in 2027.

That may not seem like much – and watch how fast it goes.

Who Needs a New Contract in 2027

The 2023 draft class is the story here. Three of that class’s starters are entering the final year of their rookie deals in 2026, with outside linebacker Yaya Diaby, right guard Cody Mauch, and a fifth-year option of $14.475 million on Calijah Kancey all coming due.

Add quarterback Baker Mayfield, defensive tackle Vita Vea, and kicker Chase McLaughlin all coming off contract years in 2026 and you have some significant paydays to balance against a budget that is now feeling tighter by the typed word. Mayfield alone is expected to fetch an extension worth at least $50 million per season.

I guess $94 million doesn’t buy what it used to, does it? The Bucs are going to need to make some hard decisions next offseason.

Potential 2027 Cap + Cash Casualties

The team could look to reallocate current resources to make up that gap. Here are four players Tampa Bay could cut in 2027 to help free up cash. I have listed them in order of likelihood.

WR Chris Godwin Jr. 

Godwin will be entering the final year of the three-year, $66 million extension he signed in 2025. Last year was a bit of a redshirt year for him coming off his ankle injury. Bucs general manager Jason Licht acknowledged that at the time of the deal and has reiterated several times over since then. But Godwin’s career lows in catches (33) and receiving yards (360) are still cause for concern.

As is, the fibula injury he suffered cost him six games last year. Since 2020, Godwin has averaged just 12 games played per season. And that number is headed in the wrong direction at the age of 30. Godwin needs to show two things in 2026 to convince the Bucs to not cut him and save $22 million in cash – because none of that salary is guaranteed.

Bucs WR Chris Godwin Jr. – Photo by: USA Today

First, he has to show he can stay on the field. Godwin needs to get through 14 or more games to show he can contribute consistently. And second, he has to show he can deliver volume and high leverage production. After numerous lower body injuries, Godwin’s past his explosive prime. But before he was lost for the 2024 season, he showed he can be a volume producer who can move the chains on key third downs.

That’s the Godwin the Bucs need to show up in 2026 to justify keeping him for 2027. If he doesn’t hit both of those marks, the team will likely move on, saving the cash while clearing $13.7 million in salary cap space.

S Antoine Winfield Jr.

Winfield is also out of guaranteed money. He played well last year, but was conspicuously devoid of impact plays. He earned his market-setting contract in 2024 on the back of a near-historic 2023 season that included six forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, six.sacks, six tackles for loss, 12 passes defensed and three interceptions. Since then, he has matched just one of those numbers (tackles for loss) over a two season sample.

If Winfield can’t get back to creating turnovers and plays behind the line of scrimmage, the Bucs could decide to take his $19.6 million salary and dedicate it to someone else. They would save $7.7 million in salary cap space in the process in 2027.

LG Ben Bredeson 

Bredeson has played well above what anyone would have expected when the Bucs signed him to a cheap contract in 2024. His play that season earned him a three-year, $22 million re-up from Tampa Bay.

Bredeson surprised again last year when he moved from left guard to center early in the season as the team juggled the offensive line due to injuries. But as he moved back to guard late in the season, the interior protection wobbled, and Mayfield’s late-season decision-making suffered alongside it.

That’s not to say he is underperforming his modest salary. But Cody Mauch is the superior guard and is entering a contract year. If the team feels they can only keep one of the two it makes sense they would go with the younger, better player. They could save $7 million in cash and $4.5 million salary cap by letting Bredeson go (or potentially trading him). Then spend that money towards Mauch in 2027.

CB Zyon McCollum

McCollum struggled with consistency in 2025. His three-game rolling passer rating allowed swung from 57.6 in Week 11 to 127.7 by Week 12. That volatility is the issue. The Bucs were hoping he could ascend to CB1 status, but his up-and-down play left them wanting more. The tools are still there. And he plays a high-variance position. There’s a better than decent shot he turns it around this year.

The team gave him a vote of confidence when they restructured his salary this year, increasing the dead cap hit they would incur should they cut him next year. McCollum’s contract has a rolling guarantee structure, and earlier this offseason $7.4 million of his 2027 salary vested into a guarantee. They owe him that even if they cut him next year. But they can still save $8.006 million in cash while taking an $800,000 salary cap penalty if they decide to move on.

The cap penalty isn’t important. The cash savings is.

Bucs’ Hard Decisions Ahead In 2027

This is the harder question: who actually gets extended? The Bucs have several prominent players set to hit free agency in 2027. Quarterback Baker Mayfield is the headliner. But outside linebacker Yaya Diaby and right guard Cody Mauch are also key young players that are entering contract years in their prime. Nose tackle Vita Vea and kicker Chase McLaughlin are also on the list, and we’ll find out this year if Vea is still in his prime at age 31 or starting to slip past it.

Here are some rough estimates for how much each player will likely command per year on a new deal.

Baker Mayfield: $50-52 million per year
Yaya Diaby: $23-25 million per year
Cody Mauch: $14-17 million per year
Vita Vea: $15-18 million per year
Chase McLaughlin: $5.5-7 million per year

If the Bucs want to keep all five of those players, they will need to dish out $107.5 million on the low end. Unless the Glazers make a significant change in their cash spending habits, they won’t be able to keep all five. Here’s how I’d handle each, in the order I’d address them.

1. Diaby is an ascending pass rusher. Each season he has improved his technique and impact. If he levels up one more time he could clear $30 million APY next year. Tampa Bay can lock him up with an extension this offseason. The way they structure their extensions for players coming off rookie deals would only cost them about $3 million in extra cash this year, which they can afford. It’s the right deal for their 2026 cash position.

2. McLaughlin has quietly turned into one of the best kickers in football. Brandon Aubrey just reset the kicker market at $7 million per year. “Money” McLaughin’s market is now pretty well defined. A three-year, $18 million extension would only cost the Bucs an extra $1.5 million in cash this year, take one thing off their plate next year, and lock in one of their most consistent pieces for the foreseeable future. This should be done this offseason.

3. Mayfield is the most important to the team. But a market-value extension would require an extra $10 million in cash. That would break the Glazers’ spending habits. I’m not saying they won’t do it this offseason. Just that I see it as more likely to be priority No. 1 for the 2027 offseason.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

And the Bucs have the franchise tag in their back pockets. This year’s tag was less than $44 million, and the quarterback market has stalled over the last 24 months. Tampa Bay has legitimate control over Mayfield past this year as a security blanket that gives them ample time to get a deal done. The realistic path is to let 2026 play out and use the franchise tag as a safety net to get the long-term extension in place before he plays a single snap in 2027.

4. This is where it gets tricky. Few people are higher on Cody Mauch than I am. Keep in mind I was making the case for him as a Pro Bowler in 2024. There are three reasons I see him as the odd man out: needs at other positions, his 2025 season-ending knee injury, and Jason Licht’s penchant for finding quality offensive linemen on Day 2 of the draft. Other teams are going to see his value and be willing to pay top dollar for him if he rebounds with a very good 2026 campaign. And with all of their other priorities, I struggle to see the path where they re-sign/extend him.

5. Vea will be 32 in 2027. The aging curve for big nose tackles is not a forgiving one. And he is coming off of back-to-back seasons of setting new career highs in snaps played. With over-30 defensive tackles finding two- and three-year deals on the open market, and the Bucs preferring to go year-to-year with their over-30 players, the two sides may be misaligned on what a future for Vea in Tampa Bay looks like.

And that’s before you consider the team would be paying for his decline whereas the four above him would be entering or maintaining their primes. It all adds up to a tough sell for the big man to remain with the team past 2026.

The math points to two extensions this offseason, one more next year, and two goodbyes. That’s the most logical path forward.

*Editor’s note: Portions of this article were originally published as part of the Cover-4 series at Pewter Report. They have been combined and lightly edited here to present the finance arc as a single extended analysis. You can find the original articles here, here and here.