Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport X account this week in the Bucs Mailbag. Submit your question to SR each week via X using the hashtag #PRMailbag. Here are the Bucs questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

QUESTION: What have you seen so far this offseason that gives you any confidence that the team will be improved in 2026?

ANSWER: On paper, this offseason was a success in Tampa Bay. Todd Bowles wanted his defense to get bigger and more stout against the run. That was accomplished with the signing of defensive tackles A’Shawn Robinson and Rakeem Nunez-Roches and the drafting of DeMonte Capehart – Robinson and Capehart are both 315 pounds – and the addition of Alex Anzalone, a 6-foot-3, 234-pound linebacker in free agency and the drafting of 6-foot-2, 237-pound Josiah Trotter.

Bowles also wanted to add some edge rushers and the team signed Al-Quadin Muhammad fresh off an 11-sack season in Detroit and drafted Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. in the first round. Those two will be joined by the return of David Walker off injured reserve.

Bucs DT A’Shawn Robinson – Photo by: Adam Warren/PR

Tampa Bay also added another big receiver to replace Mike Evans in the 6-foot-4 Ted Hurst, and electric runner and receiver Kenneth Gainwell, who should be an upgrade over Rachaad White in the backfield. Outside of Evans, the Bucs didn’t have many free agents the team wanted to keep after last year’s dismal 8-9 season. Guys like Haason Reddick, Logan Hall, Kindle Vildor and White were willingly let go because sometimes a team can accomplish addition by subtraction.

So it looks good on paper, but NFL games are won on the gridiron. And the most talented teams don’t always win. The newcomers have to gel together in training camp and become cohesive units on offense, defense and special teams. Sometimes that takes time.

I do like a lot of the new faces in Tampa Bay and expect several players to make an instant impact. The offense has the most continuity, and the expectation is that it returns to the level it achieved in 2024 under former offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who is best friends with new play-caller Zac Robinson. The one thing I’ll caution fans about is that while the fact that Bowles’ defense could have as many as five new starters it is going to take some time for those new pieces to all fit together.

Bowles’ defense could have as many as five new starters this year with three of them being rookies in Bain, Trotter and nickelback Keionte Scott. Rookies often take some lumps early on, as experience is the greatest teacher. Despite being more talented than last year’s unit, I wouldn’t be surprised if the defense doesn’t really ascend until the second half of the season due to the rookie’s learning curve and the entire unit getting a feel for playing together. The truth is we may not truly know if the roster has actually been improved until the second half of the season.

QUESTION: Scott, which players are you most looking forward to seeing in Bucs training camp this year?

ANSWER: Selfishly speaking because both men are participating in Pewter Report’s Camp Diary series, I’m excited to see what outside linebacker David Walker and quarterback Jalon Daniels can do in August. Walker has generated a lot of hype and buzz in the offseason for a second year in a row. Of course he missed his rookie season after tearing his ACL during the third camp practice last year, and he never even got to put shoulder pads on. So the fact that he is kind of an enigma with loads of promise is fascinating to me.

Daniels has some intriguing talent and I saw him play at KU for years. Can the Bucs coaching staff harness that talent and refine his technique to mold him into an NFL quarterback? It will be fun to watch because Daniels is a great athlete and has big-play potential. Plus, he’s got a tremendous personality and tons of energy. I want to see if he has what it takes to possibly ascend to becoming Baker Mayfield’s backup in time.

Bucs QB Jalon Daniels – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

I’m also fascinated to see what a trio of draft picks can do in pads. Outside linebacker Rueben Bain Jr. is a physical freak and could be the game-changer the Bucs need on defense. Josiah Trotter is vying to start at middle linebacker and has great size and strength. But how quickly can he grasp the system and learn how to cover at the NFL level? Wide receiver Ted Hurst had a fantastic offseason and looks like he could start in the NFL this season. Can he keep the momentum going into training camp and the preseason?

The other player I’m really excited to see is defensive tackle Jayson Jones, who was on the practice squad for a few weeks last year before going on injured reserve with a torn bicep. At 6-foot-6, 330 pounds, Jones is a behemoth that I can’t wait to see in pads. He played preseason in Baltimore, but didn’t make the roster and opted to sign with Tampa Bay’s practice squad instead. I find his size and athleticism to be quite captivating.

QUESTION: What kind of dead cap shape are the Bucs in for next 3-4 seasons?

ANSWER: As it stands right now, the Bucs are in relatively good shape when it comes to dead cap money. According to OverTheCap.com, Tampa Bay currently has $13,334,757 in dead money for 2026 with $125,000 of it from former quarterback Michael Pratt and the rest due to Mike Evans’ dead money. In 2027 the team currently has just $3,334 of reported dead cap money, and there isn’t any beyond that as of right now.

Of course that can and will change in the future. For example, if the team wants to move on from Chris Godwin Jr. next year when he turns 31 to create more cap space and avoid paying him his $20.5 million base salary in cash, Tampa Bay could clear $13.702 million in 2027 by releasing him.

Bucs WR Chris Godwin and GM Jason Licht, photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

However, such a move before June 1 would create $16.231 million in dead cap money. Godwin doesn’t have any guaranteed money next year and if he doesn’t return to form as a 1,000-yard receiver the team may deem that he’s too expensive to keep for less than ideal production.

Yet there are three players whose contracts are up after 2026 that have void years and so the team is looking at some dead cap space at some point in time, even if the team signs all three to contract extensions before their current deals expire. Baker Mayfield has a $30.15 million dead cap hit coming in 2027 from his current contract unless he can get an extension done, in which case that could get kicked down the road.

The same goes for defensive tackle Vita Vea and outside linebacker Anthony Nelson, who each have void years in 2027. Vea has a looming dead cap hit of $2.284 million and Nelson has one of $2.598 million. Both of those are minuscule compared to Mayfield’s dead cap money. Yet with an expected $323 million NFL salary cap number next year, Mayfield’s dead cap money wouldn’t even account for 10% of the Bucs’ cap.

QUESTION: Any chances we bring in Kenny Moore to compete at the corner position?

ANSWER: Kenny Moore was released by Indianapolis in May after requesting a trade and the Colts not being able to find a willing trade partner. The only problem for the Bucs is that Moore, who is 5-foot-9, 190 pounds, is almost exclusively a slot defender as a nickelback. And the Bucs have plenty of players capable of playing nickel cornerback already on the roster.

Jacob Parrish manned the position last year. Safety Tykee Smith started at nickelback in 2024. Safety JJ Roberts competed at nickelback last summer before tearing his ACL in August. And Keionte Scott, this year’s fourth-round pick who excelled in the slot at Miami. So bringing in another shorter cornerback who is only a candidate to play in the slot isn’t really addressing the team’s bigger need.

Bucs CBs Benjamin Morrison and Zyon McCollum – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs really need another veteran who can play outside cornerback, as the team only has three viable candidates there with Parrish, Zyon McCollum and Benjamin Morrison. All three come with question marks. McCollum has all of the athletic tools and the experience. He just needs to find his confidence and become a playmaker while living up to his vast potential.

Parrish proved he could be a very good slot defender, but at 5-foot-10, how will he transition to playing on the outside full time where he will be facing much bigger receivers on a regular basis? Morrison is an enigma because he was hurt so much during his rookie season as dealt with numerous hamstring issues. After staying healthy for much of the offseason, Morrison pulled his hamstring again, missing the final three practices before summer break.

If all three are healthy and continue to improve the Bucs should be okay – not great, but okay – at the cornerback position. Yet injuries are a part of the game and it’s likely that the Bucs will need to really on CB4 to start and play at some point this year. The problem is that CB4 may not be on the roster right now.

Josh Queipo has identified a couple of veteran cornerbacks who could become available before the start of the season and potentially help the Bucs in Kansas City’s Kristian Fulton and the New York Giants’ Keonte Banks. Tampa Bay had the chance to sign Rasul Douglas in free agency, but he recently signed with Washington prior to training camp.