Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Managing your family’s wealth means more to Amuni Financial than simply allocating your assets. It means legacy planning, brokerage & advisory services, retirement accounts, college savings accounts and insurance services. With 40 years of experience, let Amuni Financial help you plan ahead and stay ahead.

Call Amuni Financial at (800) 868-6864 or visit Amuni.com.

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: I know you wrote an article about Mike Evans, but what is you personal feelings about it? What does your gut and insight tell you will happen? If he does leave do the Bucs have to find a true X receiver this offseason?

ANSWER: I hope that Mike Evans chooses to re-sign with the Bucs and finish his career in Tampa Bay with a contract extension. That’s my personal feelings about it. Evans turns 33 this year and still has plenty of miles left on his tires. I don’t think he’ll retire as he’ll look to continue to pile up Hall of Fame numbers and move up the list of the NFL’s all-time great receivers.

But whether Evans continues his career in Tampa Bay or elsewhere will be the most talked about topic over the next month until free agency starts in earnest on March 8. Of course if Evans wants to re-sign with the Bucs that can happen at any time and neither he nor the team has to wait until the start of free agency to do a contract extension. I know Tampa Bay absolutely wants Evans to return for a 13th season, as he will continue to be a big part of Zac Robinson’s offense in 2026.

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Yet as I wrote in my SR’s FAB 5 column on Friday, Evans will have to decide a few things between now and the start of free agency, assuming he wants to continue his illustrious NFL career. First, he’ll need to decide whether or not he thinks the Bucs can be legit Super Bowl contenders in 2026. Does Evans feel like Todd Bowles and Jason Licht will fix the defense this offseason to where the Bucs will be a balanced team with good play on both sides of the ball?

If Evans isn’t sure if the Bucs will field a championship-level defense this year he may have a choice to make. Does he want to possibly forego a shot at another Super Bowl ring and stay in Tampa Bay due to legacy? How important is it for Evans to play his entire career in red and pewter? Or is winning more important and having one last chance to win another championship the goal? If that’s the case, it may lead him out of Tampa Bay, as painful as that may be to Bucs fans. But it’s his decision to make and only Evans knows what he ultimately wants to do.

And yes, if Evans does not return to Tampa Bay then the Bucs need to find another split end (X receiver), likely in the draft. Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson are better slot receivers (Y receiver) or flankers (Z receiver). The Bucs don’t have a true X outside of Evans right now.

QUESTION: SR, I’ve heard the rumors of No. 13 possibly leaving and the Bills being a likely landing spot. Do you think Mike Evans would leave for a rookie head coach? The Bills could possibly take a step back because of having a rookie head coach.

ANSWER: If Tony Pauline’s report that Mike Evans’ chances of returning to the Bucs are less than 50-50 has some truth, the Bills are one team that could be in pursuit of the future Hall of Famer. In fact, Pauline mentioned the Bills and the Patriots as two potential destinations. New England made it to the Super Bowl despite not having an elite wide receiver. And the Bills have been a playoff team for ages due to Josh Allen, but don’t have a true No. 1 wide receiver, either.

It’s hard to know what Evans wants to do – and ultimately will do – with his future in free agency. He may not even know right now which way he’s leaning, as the start of free agency is still over a month away.

Bucs WR Mike Evans and Panthers CB Mike Jackson – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Bob Donnan

I’m not sure the fact that Joe Brady is a rookie head coach would necessarily dissuade Evans from choosing Buffalo in this hypothetical exercise, should he leave Tampa Bay. Mike Macdonald has taken Seattle to the Super Bowl in his second season as a head coach. Former Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen led Jacksonville to a 13-4 record and the AFC South championship in his rookie season as the Jaguars head coach.

Besides, Brady will continue to call plays for Buffalo as the team’s head coach, as he was previously the offensive coordinator. If Evans is going to consider the Bills, it just won’t be for Brady’s play-calling. It will be for the chance to play with quarterback Josh Allen, a former NFL MVP.

QUESTION: If Mike Evans leaves the Bucs I can only imagine the vitriol for Todd Bowles will skyrocket because quite literally Bucs fans will probably just want to fast forward the season until he’s gone. Are the Glazers aware of how bad attendance numbers will be in 2026, if Evans is not back?

ANSWER: The trifecta that Bucs fans don’t want to see this offseason is legendary linebacker Lavonte David retiring (although it probably is time at age 36), wide receiver Mike Evans possibly leaving Tampa Bay in free agency, and Todd Bowles remaining as an unpopular head coach for 2026. That combination would be a gut punch for fans.

It will be interesting to see what attendance looks like in Tampa Bay for the 2026 season with Bowles staying on following a disappointing 8-9 record and the surrender of the NFC South title to Carolina this year. There were thousands of empty seats at Raymond James Stadium down the stretch versus Arizona, New Orleans, Atlanta and Carolina, as those enemy fans don’t travel that well.

Bucs ILB Lavonte David and HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs – and the Glazers – benefited from an early season stretch that saw plenty of New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and New England fans invade Ray-Jay to help fill it up. They might need even more help from visiting rival fans in 2026 if Tampa Bay loses some serious star power if Evans decides to chase a championship elsewhere as a free agent.

If Evans does leave, I don’t think it would be because of new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson. As a Sean McVay disciple, Robinson is supposed to be more like Liam Coen than even Josh Grizzard was. The guess here is that if Evans leaves it will be because he doesn’t have faith that Tampa Bay’s defense, which is at Bowles’ direction, will be improved enough this offseason to make the Bucs a serious championship contender. And that will cause even more fan dissatisfaction with Bowles.

QUESTION: Will the Bucs still have roster challenges with the cap going up?

ANSWER: The 2026 NFL salary cap is projected to rise to between $301.2 million and $305.7 million per team, which is a significant increase from last year by over $20 million. To put that in perspective, the Bucs spent $14 million on Haason Reddick’s one-year deal.

The good news for the Bucs is that the team truly has just one unrestricted free agent that truly needs to be re-signed, and that’s wide receiver Mike Evans. The future Hall of Famer signed a two-year $52 million deal in 2024, which averaged $26 million per season. Inside linebacker Lavonte David won’t get better or faster at age 36, and certainly won’t be healthier. It’s probably best for the franchise to turn the page and let David retire after a fantastic career.

Here’s a list of the Bucs’ pending unrestricted and restricted free agents in 2026.

Bucs’ Unrestricted Free Agents

WR Mike Evans
OLB Haason Reddick
ILB Lavonte David
CB Jamel Dean
DT Logan Hall
DT Greg Gaines
OT Charlie Heck
WR Sterling Shepard
CB Kindle Vildor
RB Rachaad White
ILB Deion Jones
QB Teddy Bridgewater
S J.T. Gray
ILB Anthony Walker Jr.
G Dan Feeney
G Mike Jordan
TE Cade Otton
TE Ko Kieft

Bucs’ Restricted Free Agents

DB Christian Izien
RB Sean Tucker
OLB Markees Watts

Bucs TE Cade Otton and WR Mike Evans – Photo by: USA Today

That’s not to suggest that the Bucs won’t re-sign any of their other free agents. The guess here is that they might want to re-sign starting tight end Cade Otton to a reasonable deal, although I think the team can find a better one in the draft. I preferred Otton on his cheap rookie deal. And don’t be surprised if the market is weak for defensive tackle Logan Hall in free agency that he is re-signed to a cheap, one-year deal.

Cornerback Jamel Dean and running back Rachaad White seem eager to leave Tampa Bay. So while it would be nice to have either or both back, it is very unlikely. So if the Bucs don’t invest in their own free agents they will have more money to spend on new free agent signings in 2026 – and hopefully general manager Jason Licht and assistant general managers Rob McCartney and Mike Greenberg and vice president of player personnel Mike Biehl can find some upgrades from outside the organization prior to the draft.

QUESTION: Do you think if we don’t grab a linebacker in free agency that we could draft two linebackers like we did last year with the cornerback position? I think the overwhelming favorite is Jacob Rodriguez. Do you think we’d have to move up in the second round to get him?

ANSWER: Yes. I think the Bucs will try to sign a veteran linebacker in free agency. Possibly Cleveland’s Devin Bush, Philadelphia’s Nakobe Dean or New York Jets linebacker Quincy Williams. This new linebacker would likely be a middle linebacker to unseat SirVocea Dennis, possibly moving him to compete with a rookie at the Money ‘backer spot, which is the weakside linebacker position that Lavonte David has played in Todd Bowles’ scheme, or move him to the bench as a reserve.

Even if Tampa Bay signs a big name free agent linebacker, drafting two more linebackers is not out of the question, and it’s probably a necessity. With David, Deion Jones and Anthony Walker Jr. all hitting free agency this year and age 31 or older, the only two linebackers under contract are Dennis, who is entering a contract year, and Nick Jackson, an undrafted free agent. Jackson spent most of his rookie season on the practice squad, but was elevated for a few games where he contributed on special teams.

Texas Tech ILB Jacob Rodriguez – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Nathan Giese

Rookie John Bullock was claimed off waivers by the Colts after the final week of the season as the team waived him and tried to put him on the practice squad. So with just two linebackers, the Bucs will need at least four more to bring to camp. Spending a premium pick in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft to find a starting-caliber linebacker seems like a necessity.

Texas Tech’s All-American Jacob Rodriguez would be my No. 1 target if I was general manager Jason Licht. He’s a play-making stud and has a chance to be an instant star. I recently did a Pewter Pulse video on Rodriguez following the Senior Bowl for our PewterReportTV YouTube channel. You can watch that video by clicking it below.

Drafting another linebacker for competition, depth and special teams on Day 3 also seems wise. Then the Bucs can sign another linebacker or two after the draft like they did last year. I am all in favor of Licht and the Bucs flooding the inside linebacker position in this year’s draft.