Explaining The Bucs Battle Plans For 2026

PewterReport.com writers Scott Reynolds, Matt Matera, Adam Slivon, Bailey Adams and Josh Queipo have devised their own Bucs Plans for the 2026 offseason. These come complete with their individualized free agent signings, trades, roster moves and draft picks to hopefully help Tampa Bay get back to winning the NFC South and returning to the playoffs.

Remember, these Bucs Battle Plans are how the PewterReport.com staff members would reshape the team this offseason – not necessarily what we think Tampa Bay will do in free agency and the draft, although there could be some overlap with certain players the team may be targeting.

With the Bucs budgeting about $50 million in cash to spend – not salary cap room – that’s how much each Pewter Reporter is allowed to spend in free agency targeting new players and re-signing some current players. The $50 million does not include the money already allocated for the 2026 rookie salary pool and the practice squad.

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Bailey Adams’ Bucs Battle Plan For The 2026 Offseason

Full disclosure before we get started: I originally had an entire plan outlined that accounted for the likelihood (inevitability?) that Mike Evans will play elsewhere in 2026. I, like my boss Scott Reynolds, have a sinking feeling that Evans will not re-sign with Tampa Bay. Because of that, I initially planned to approach this Battle Plan without Evans.

But after sleeping on it, I went back and ripped up the aforementioned plan. Because this is my Battle Plan, damn it, and I can’t fathom the thought of Mike Evans playing in another uniform. I’m not ready to accept that as a reality. So, the big free agency moves I was planning to make went out the window.

They were mostly older veterans anyway, which brought plenty of risks to my plan, and I ultimately decided that a good chunk of my free agency cash was better suited for a future Hall of Fame wide receiver who has plenty left in the tank and deserves a chance to win a second Super Bowl ring right where he won his first.

Bucs WR Mike Evans Photo by: USA Today

With a lot of money committed to Evans, the rest of my free agency strategy involved some low-cost, high-upside players – particularly on defense. The idea was to try to find the Bucs another Shaq Barrett or Baker Mayfield type of signing, giving out some one-year deals with minimal monetary commitments in the hopes that one or more of these guys breaks out and helps transform the Tampa Bay defense and bring it back to a level where it can complement what already looks like a stacked offense.

To hedge my bets on those low-risk, high-reward free agency signings, the goal in the 2026 NFL Draft is to flood some of those same positions with more talent. You’ll see that at several positions of need, there’s a low-cost free agent and a draft pick. The goal with this strategy is that there will be some good competition that, in turn, creates stronger depth and raises the floor of the Bucs defense. The presence of these free agents also eases some of the pressure on the rookies to contribute right away, though if those rookies are hits from day one, that’s even better.

Bucs Contract Restructures

With less than $20 million in cap space currently, according to OverTheCap.com, and the $50 million in cash I have to spend in free agency, I’ll need to create some salary cap room. Following in the footsteps of my Pewter Report colleagues, I’ll turn to two pillars of my offensive line to create an additional $33.731 million in cap space.

LT Tristan Wirfs – $18.525 million with no new void years
RT Luke Goedeke – $15.206 million with no new void years

Bucs Cuts

None – I don’t have any salary cap casualties following the creation of that additional $33.7 million from the restructures.

Bucs Trades

None – As much as I’d love to make a move for Maxx Crosby or Jonathan Greenard, I’ve opted to stand pat and spend that money elsewhere.

Unrestricted Free Agents Re-Signed

WR Mike Evans – 1 year, $24 million

I would’ve loved to get Evans at the one-year, $17 million price tag that Pewter Report’s Josh Queipo originally projected, but with Evans opening up his market to other teams, that number jumps up. I’ll bite the bullet and spend $24 million on the greatest offensive player in Bucs history. This is a move done with a Drake London-like role in mind for Evans in Zac Robinson’s offense. I get that Tampa Bay is flush with talent at receiver and Atlanta wasn’t, but Evans will be my go-to guy due to his pedigree, his price tag and what he has left to give. He’s still the alpha of that room.

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: USA Today

TE Ko Kieft – 1 year, $1.1 million

I like Kieft for what he is, which is a bottom-of-the-roster blocking tight end who serves as a key special teamer. With such a low price tag, I’m happy to bring him back and let him battle it out with third-year tight end Devin Culp for the fourth spot on the depth chart.

Unrestricted Free Agents Not Re-Signed

ILB Lavonte David
OLB Haason Reddick
CB Jamel Dean
DT Logan Hall
TE Cade Otton
RB Rachaad White
WR Sterling Shepard
DT Greg Gaines
OT Charlie Heck
CB Kindle Vildor
OL Mike Jordan
ILB Deion Jones
ILB Anthony Walker Jr.
QB Teddy Bridgewater
S J.T. Gray
OLB Markees Watts (ERFA)
OT Tyler McLellan (ERFA)

Restricted/Exclusive Rights Free Agents Re-Signed

RB Sean Tucker – 1 year, $2.25 million

The tender for Tucker is too rich for my liking (and clearly the Bucs’), but I’d like to bring him back for another year as a fringe RB2/RB3. He doesn’t quite get the $3.52 first right of refusal tender, but this is still gets a nice raise.

DB Christian Izien – 1 year, $2.25 million

The same goes for Izien, whose tender is also too rich. But I love the versatility and experience the former Rutgers man has in Todd Bowles’ defense, so bringing him back on a higher salary also feels like a no-brainer.

LS Eric Deckers – 1 year, $1.075 million

Deckers is back as my long snapper because why not?

New Unrestricted Free Agents Signed

ILB Leo Chenal – 2 years, $12 million

Perennially productive in a rotational role, Chenal is the type of player I feel good about betting on in a full-time role. The former Wisconsin Badger has graded out with an 84, 81.5 and 75.1 over the last three years with the Chiefs and does just about everything right. He has 44 pressures over the last three years, has a coverage grade that has bordered on 70 for the last two years and isn’t far removed from posting back-to-back seasons with a run defense grade above 90. He’s only 25, too, so inking him to a two-year deal at a reasonable price is an easy choice.

OLB Joshua Uche – 1 year, $2 million

I originally went for a bigger fish in free agency to address the Bucs’ pass rush, but changing course and bringing Mike Evans back meant settling for another low-risk, high-reward signing with Uche. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound edge rusher is only 27 and has flashed plenty of potential throughout his career, but he has yet to find a true home. Perhaps that could be in Tampa Bay after a 2025 season that saw him total 23 pressures over only 244 snaps in Philadelphia. If nothing else, Uche raises the floor of the outside linebacker room and offers a veteran rotational piece to complement Yaya Diaby and my first-round edge rusher.

DT Levi Onwuzurike – 1 year, $2 million

Another move aimed to raise the floor of a position group, I’m signing the former Detroit Lion who is coming off a torn ACL that cost him his 2025 season. But in 2024, he posted a career-high 47 pressures and graded out well both as a pass rusher and as a run defender. Adding Onwuzurike on a cheap one-year deal is a stopgap type of move, as I wasn’t able to fully flood the defensive tackle group in this offseason. But it’s a move that could pay dividends.

QB Jimmy Garoppolo – 1 year, $3 million

The Bucs need a reliable backup quarterback in the event of a Baker Mayfield injury, so I go out and sign a veteran in Garoppolo, who has spent the last two seasons in Sean McVay’s offense out in Los Angeles. He comes into a similar offense run by new coordinator Zac Robinson and gives me a capable backup who can start for a week or two if ever needed.

Ravens TE Charlie Kolar – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Brad Rempel

TE Charlie Kolar – 1 year, $3 million

Zac Robinson and the Bucs need a starting-caliber tight end to replace Cade Otton, so I’m signing Kolar, a former fourth-round pick to a cheap one-year deal to boost an otherwise-unproven tight end room. At 6-foot-6, 265 pounds, Kolar was often overlooked and underused in Baltimore where he played behind Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely, catching just 30 passes for 409 yards (13.4 avg.) and four touchdowns in four seasons. This is another dart throw in an effort to provide some depth and add a veteran with experience.

Adams’ 2026 Bucs Draft Picks

I didn’t go too crazy with trades on draft weekend (also known in this case as a Wednesday night with PFF’s mock draft simulator), instead moving down just once. Rather than sticking and picking at No. 15 in the first round, I swung a trade with the Vikings. I sent pick No. 15 to Minnesota and got back picks No. 18 and 82, so to move down just three spots, I gained another third-round pick.

With that trade, I now have a one pick in the first, second, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds as well as two picks in the third round. And sure enough, despite moving down three spots from No. 15, I ended up with the player I was targeting all along, much like Jason Licht did in 2018 when he traded down and was still able to select Vita Vea.

ROUND 1 (No. 18) – Texas A&M EDGE Cashius Howell

After trading down, I’m still able to select the premier pass rusher I need in Howell, who had 11.5 sacks last year at A&M and 27 sacks total over the last four years between Bowling Green and Texas A&M. The 6-foot-3, 253-pound pass rusher has been questioned for his arm length, but the tape shows me enough to give me confidence in his ability to produce at a high level in the NFL. The 2025 SEC Defensive Player of the Year said he looks to former Buc Shaq Barrett as a sort of role model, and now he follows in his footsteps in Tampa Bay.

ROUND 2 (No. 46) – Texas Tech ILB Jacob Rodriguez

Rodriguez certainly showed enough during his time at Texas Tech to make me believe in his ability to be the linebacker of the future for the Bucs, but he went out and tested well at the Combine last week to give me even more faith in him as an instant-impact type of ‘backer in Todd Bowles’ defense. The 2025 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and fifth-place finisher in Heisman Trophy voting had seven forced fumbles last year and has 10 over the last two seasons. Yes, please.

ROUND 3 (No. 77) – Ohio State TE Max Klare

With Cade Otton moving on, Tyler Higbee in on only a one-year deal and a general lack of faith in the rest of the tight end room, I spend my first third-round pick on Klare. After three years at Purdue, including a 2024 season that saw him post 685 yards and four touchdowns while averaging 13.4 yards per catch, Klare finished his career at Ohio State. He offers plenty as a receiver to entice me to use a third-rounder on him, but there’s also plenty to love about what he did as a blocker in his lone season with the Buckeyes.

ROUND 3 (No. 82) – Washington RB Jonah Coleman

With the extra third-round pick I got from my trade with the Vikings, I go back to the Bucs’ Washington pipeline and select Coleman. The 5-foot-8, 220-pound back ran for 871 yards and five touchdowns for Arizona in 2023 before heading to Washington, where he ran for 1,053 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2024 before adding 758 yards and 15 more scores in 2025. Coleman is a capable pass catcher, too, and I love his mentality as a pass protector.

ROUND 4 (No. 116) – Texas A&M OL Trey Zuhn III

I really like Zuhn’s versatility. He was primarily a left tackle at Texas A&M, but he also got reps at center this past year and has been working on getting some reps at guard during his pre-draft process as well. Speaking with him at the Combine in Indianapolis, it was clear he has the confidence to play all five positions on the line, and you have to like that in a depth piece. How well he adjusts to guard would determine his long-term position within my roster plans, but for now, I like the fact that he can fill in anywhere.

ROUND 5 (No. 153) – Cal CB Hezekiah Masses

I didn’t have a chance to address the secondary the way I would’ve liked to in free agency, so the hope here is that Masses comes along quickly and can be a CB3/CB4 in 2026. The tools are there, and the former FIU standout-turned-Cal star is coming off a season that saw him rack up five interceptions and post an 81.2 PFF coverage grade. His 90.0 grade in zone coverage caught my eye, too, as did his length at 6-foot-1.

ROUND 6 (No. 194) – Penn State DT Zane Durant

Durant is certainly worth a sixth-round flier after back-to-back four-sack seasons at Penn State. He totaled 47 pressures over those two campaigns for the Nittany Lions, and while he’s just 6-foot-1 and 290 pounds, his athleticism is near an elite level. I like him to come in and compete for a depth role in my defensive line room.

ROUND 7 (No. 153) – Utah ILB Lander Barton

The younger brother of veteran offensive tackle Jackson Barton and Titans linebacker Cody Barton, Lander Barton is an intriguing pickup here in the seventh round. He’s closer to average in terms of athleticism and agility, but he was a playmaker at Utah with eight sacks, five interceptions (two pick-sixes), three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries in his career. A good depth linebacker who can play special teams makes for a good choice in the seventh.

Adams’ “Way Too Early” Bucs 53-Man Roster Projection

QUARTERBACKS – 2

QB Baker Mayfield
QB Jimmy Garoppolo

Analysis: Even further motivated by the fact that Mike Evans is returning, Mayfield is ready to return to his 2024 self under Zac Robinson. Jimmy G comes in as his backup to create an all-time handsome quarterback duo.

RUNNING BACKS – 4

RB Bucky Irving
RB Jonah Coleman
RB Sean Tucker
RB Josh Williams

Analysis: Hopefully Irving returns to his 2024 form as well, and Coleman steps in to compete with Tucker for RB2 duties after Rachaad White’s departure. Williams, an undrafted free agent last year, catches on as RB4.

WIDE RECEIVERS – 6

WR Mike Evans
WR Emeka Egbuka
WR Chris Godwin Jr.
WR Jalen McMillan
WR Tez Johnson
WR Kam Johnson

Analysis: Evans is back to keep the league’s best receiving quartet intact. Egbuka is ready to take the next step forward in Year 2, while McMillan should be set for an even better Year 3 now that he’s healthy. A return to form for Godwin would certainly be welcomed as well, especially with the offense set to be closer to the one he thrived in during the first half of 2024.

TIGHT ENDS – 4

TE Max Klare
TE Charlie Kolar
TE Payne Durham
TE Ko Kieft

Analysis: This room gets the biggest shakeup on the offense, as Cade Otton wasn’t re-signed and Devin Culp is left to the practice squad. Klare and Kolar battle it out for TE1 duties, with the loser of that battle serving as a better No. 2 than Tampa Bay has had at the position in a while.

OFFENSIVE LINE – 9

Tristan Wirfs
Ben Bredeson
Graham Barton
Cody Mauch
Luke Goedeke
Ben Chukwuma
Luke Haggard
Elijah Klein
Trey Zuhn III

Analysis: The Bucs’ offensive line, when healthy, is among the league’s best. The big hope for 2026 is that the unit can stay healthy after a disaster of a year in 2025 on the injury front. Chukwuma is ready to step into the swing tackle role, Haggard and Klein offer depth at guard, while Zuhn offers depth across the line at various positions.

DEFENSIVE LINE – 6

DT Vita Vea
DT Calijah Kancey
DT Levi Onwuzurike
DT Elijah Roberts
DT Zane Durant
DT Jayson Jones

Analysis: There are some new faces in this group, but it’s still a work in progress heading into 2026 and will need more attention in the 2027 offseason. Still, I have hope that Vea will still be the same guy he’s always been and that Kancey finally makes it through a full season for the first time. Onwuzurike could prove to be a free agency steal, while Roberts is primed to take the next step in his second season. The rookie Durant, as well as Jones, round out the room as high-upside depth pieces.

INSIDE LINEBACKERS – 4

ILB Leo Chenal
ILB Jacob Rodriguez
ILB SirVocea Dennis
ILB Lander Barton

Analysis: This room looks significantly different, but I love its upside. Chenal could be the kind of steal Shaq Barrett was back in 2019, just at a different position. Meanwhile, Rodriguez is the future of this defense as its new playmaking linebacker, and Dennis and Barton give the group more depth than it’s had in a few years.

OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS – 6

OLB Yaya Diaby
OLB Cashius Howell
OLB Joshua Uche
OLB David Walker
OLB Anthony Nelson
OLB Chris Braswell

Analysis: Diaby and Howell are my starters on the outside, with a bet on Uche to come in and provide some competition for the rookie until he earns that primary role. Walker is back and should elevate the pass rush in his first NFL season, while Nelson continues to be Todd Bowles’ “steady Eddie” who is good for a splash play or two each year. Braswell is all the way down to OLB6 and could be in danger of missing the 53-man roster.

CORNERBACKS – 5

CB Zyon McCollum
CB Benjamin Morrison
CB Jacob Parrish
CB Hezekiah Masses
CB Josh Hayes

Analysis: There’s risk involved here, as McCollum needs to bounce back from a down 2025 season and Morrison needs to stay healthy and step in as a full-time starter relatively seamlessly. However, Parrish is capable of playing outside and if he’s needed there at any point, I also have J.J. Roberts, among others, who can play in the slot. Masses is an intriguing add through the draft, while Hayes sticks around as a special teams gem.

SAFETIES – 4

SS Tykee Smith
FS Antoine Winfield Jr.
S Christian Izien
S JJ Roberts

Analysis: This room remains unchanged outside of the fact that Roberts, an undrafted free agent out of Marshall, is back from the injury that ended his rookie season before it started. Roberts has the versatility to play safety and nickel. In fact, everyone in this group does. Winfield needs to return to his All-Pro form, while Smith needs to take the next step on what feels like a Pro Bowl-caliber trajectory.

SPECIALISTS – 3

K Chase McLaughlin
P Riley Dixon
LS Eric Deckers

Analysis: McLaughlin is still money. The most accurate kicker in franchise history is back to lead a specialists group that also features two holdovers in Dixon and Deckers.

Bailey Adams’ Favorite Rugged Pirate Beard Co. Scent

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What Do You Think Of Bailey Adams’ Bucs Battle Plan?

Did you like my Bucs Battle Plan? Which player acquisitions did you like the most? What changes would you’ve made if you were in charge of Tampa Bay’s free agent signings and draft picks? Sound off below in the article comments!