It’s not a good mix when a team has three players in Pro Football Focus’ Top 10 free agent list and one of the worst salary cap situations in the league. But that’s where the Bucs are heading into the 2023 offseason.

Tampa Bay has the second-worst salary cap situation of any team at $54,453,921 over the salary cap, according to OverTheCap.com. That’s not good, especially considering the fact that the Bucs have 23 unrestricted free agents this year.

The Bucs will have to do some maneuvering to get in cap compliance, and it will take a lot of hard work by general manager Jason Licht and vice president of football administration Mike Greenberg to make that happen. Head coach Todd Bowles, Licht and Greenberg will have to make some tough decisions regarding the team’s free agents, including three of the best, according to Pro Football Focus.

Bucs quarterback Tom Brady is PFF’s No. 3 overall free agent, trailing only Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson and Seattle QB Geno Smith. Here is what PFF had to say about Brady.

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today

While it remains unclear whether Brady wants to run it back for his age-46 season in 2023, one thing is crystal clear: He’s still among the elite throwers of the football in the NFL today. Many scoffed at the notion Tampa Bay would become immediate contenders when signing him in 2020 free agency at the tender age of 43, and all he did was win a Super Bowl in his first season with the team and follow that up with a 13-win 2021 campaign in which he nearly mounted a miraculous comeback in the divisional round against the Los Angeles Rams. 

Brady has an argument to be the top player on this list, but given he may very well retire, we’ll let the young bucks go ahead of him this time around. Brady’s 79.3 passing grade ranks seventh on the season, and the 16 drops by his wide receivers tied for the fifth most on the year. Granted, he threw a league-leading 733 passes this regular season, averaging nearly 45 attempts per game outside of Week 18 when he was pulled early.

Brady’s 2.5% turnover-worthy play rate ranked eighth lowest among qualifying quarterbacks, further illustrated by his streak of 399 consecutive passes without an interception that ended in Germany when Seattle Seahawks linebacker Cody Barton picked him off over the middle. This was the second-longest streak in NFL history, just three attempts behind the record of 402 set by Aaron Rodgers in 2018.

Bucs’ Dean Is Top Free Agent Cornerback

A few spots behind Brady is Jamel Dean at No. 6 on PFF’s list. Dean is the top-rated cornerback in free agency, and should get more money than teammate Carlton Davis III received last year. Here is the PFF write-up about Dean.

Bucs CB Jamel Dean – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Fellow Buccaneers cornerback Carlton Davis returned to the team this offseason on a three-year, $44.5 million contract that could serve as something of a benchmark to clear for Dean wherever he potentially ends up. Dean carries some injury history but has outperformed Davis since entering the league in 2019, earning coverage grades above 75.0 in every season thus far.

Dean takes some risks attempting to jump routes that at times can lead to explosive receptions over the top, but his size, athleticism and physicality at the line of scrimmage enable him to disrupt opposing wide receivers’ releases and will have a lot of teams interested. He doesn’t have great ball skills — though he did snag two interceptions on the year — and can be a bit stiff in the hips, but we’re nitpicking here with a guy who can match up well with a lot of the top big-bodied wide receivers across the NFL. 

Bucs’ David Is Top Free Agent Linebacker

Bucs LB Lavonte David – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Right behind Dean at No. 7 on the list is Lavonte David, who is PFF’s top-rated linebacker. Here is PFF’s analysis of David.

One of the best off-ball linebackers of his generation, David is still playing at an extremely high level and may benefit from New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis and Los Angeles Rams linebacker Bobby Wagner playing very good football well into their 30s on recently signed contracts of their own. Potentially losing a step or two with age can be negated by elite play recognition and instincts, both of which David has in spades.

David’s 88.5 coverage grade this season ranked second among off-ball linebackers, and his elite 93.0 mark over the past four seasons is the top mark at the position.

It’s doubtful that the Bucs will be able to afford to keep all three of these top free agents, especially with contract extensions on the horizon for right tackle Tristan Wirfs, linebacker Devin White and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. in the next year or two.