Free agency for the Bucs and the NFL officially began on Monday, March 9 at noon ET when the open negotiating period kicked off and prospective free agents could begin to negotiate with teams. Deals with new free agents could be signed and finalized on Wednesday, March 11 at 4:00 p.m. ET.

Pewter Report will track Tampa Bay’s additions and losses to the roster in the coming weeks with the 2026 Bucs Free Agency Tracker, which will be updated with news and rumors as we come across information from our team and league sources. So bookmark this page and check back often.

Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds previewed free agency and offered up some inside scoop on Tampa Bay’s plans in Friday’s SR’s FAB 5: 2026 Bucs Free Agency Insider.

THE LATEST RUMORS/ANALYSIS

UPDATED: 3/9 – 12:39 PM ET: BREAKING: The Bucs are bracing for the fact that legendary WR Mike Evans will be signing elsewhere. As @PewterReport suspected, that’s why the Cade Otton re-signing is happening now. Nothing is final until Wednesday, but it’s likely Evans departs Tampa Bay to play elsewhere.

UPDATED 3/9 – 12:31 PM ET: WHOA! If Cade Otton is back – does this mean that Mike Evans leaves/ Will be interesting to see what the numbers are on the Otton deal.

UPDATED 3/9 – 12:19 PM ET: Could Bucs special teams coordinator Danny Smith, who was the long-term Steelers ST coordinator, help lure James Pierre to Tampa Bay?

UPDATED 3/9 – 12:10 PM ET: Knowing this [about Lavonte David] Bucs would be wise to wait and see what they can get in free agency at linebacker first (a younger, faster ILB) before circling back around to Lavonte David.

UPDATED 3/9 – 10:09 AM ET: Free agent linebackers the Bucs could target include Lions ILB Alex Anzalone, a @GatorsFB alum, Jets ILB Quincy Williams, Chiefs ILB Leo Chenal & Browns ILB Devin Bush – if the price is right. They may see what happens w/other LBs first before circling back around to Lavonte David.

UPDATED 3/9 – 10:02 AM ET: As @PewterReport reported last week … Trey Hendrickson’s price tag is sky high as of right now. That will have to come down – significantly – for the Bucs to have legit interest. It has been reported that Hendrickson, a Florida native, wants to play with the Buccaneers.

UPDATED 3/9 – 8:26 AM ET: Unlike years past, the Buccaneers won’t attempt to re-sign most of their FAs. Good idea coming off an 8-9 season. Buccaneers have 22 FAs and will only pursue a handful w/Mike Evans at the top of the list. Expect Jamel Dean, Rachaad White, Logan Hall, Cade Otton among others to leave.

UPDATED 3/9 – 8:17 AM ET: The Buccaneers likely won’t re-sign TE Cade Otton, who is expected to get $10m per year on the FA market – unless they can’t re-sign WR Mike Evans. If that happens they might bring Otton back. But the priority is Evans. If Evans re-signs, Otton likely leaves. Buccaneers can’t afford both.

UPDATED 3/8 – 9:53 PM ET: Report: “Mike Evans’ Career As A Buccaneer … Is Over” According to a CBS Sports report, Mike Evans is moving on from the Bucs in free agency. Yet Pewter Report had a source refute the report. 

UPDATED 3/8 – 8:00 PM ET: New Browns head coach Todd Monken was the Bucs WRs coach from 2016-18 in addition to calling plays in 2018. Not sure Cleveland has the big-league QB Evans would want to play with on the roster.

BUCS RE-SIGNINGS

QB Connor Bazelak – 1 year, $1.005 million

LS Evan Deckers – 1 year, terms undisclosed

TE Cade Otton – 3 years, terms undisclosed

Bucs TE Cade Otton – photo by: USA Today

BUCS NEW ADDITIONS IN FREE AGENCY

None yet.

BUCS DEPARTURES IN FREE AGENCY

None yet.

TAMPA BAY’S SALARY CAP ROOM

UPDATED 3/9 9:00 am ET: According to OverTheCap.com, the Buccaneers have $19,962,510 in cap space. That number is different per Spotrac, which has Tampa Bay with $11,305,885 in cap space.

CONTRACT RESTRUCTURES

None yet by Tampa Bay assistant G.M. Mike Greenberg. The likely candidates to have their contracts restructured this year are left tackle Tristan Wirfs ($36,328,582 cap value), right tackle Luke Goedeke ($22,681,200) and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. ($27,466,000 cap value).

Bucs LT Tristan Wirfs and GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

REMAINING BUCCANEERS IN FREE AGENCY

Here is a list of the remaining Buccaneers in free agency.

ILB Lavonte David
WR Mike Evans
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
TE Ko Kieft
OL Mike Jordan
OL Dan Feeney
ILB Deion Jones
ILB Anthony Walker Jr.
QB Teddy Bridgewater
S Christian Izien
S J.T. Gray
OLB Markees Watts (ERFA)
OT Tyler McLellan (ERFA)