The Bucs had a choice of whether to keep Riley Dixon or not after a rough first season in Tampa Bay. Dixon was 30th in punt average (44.7), 27th in net average (40.2) and ranked dead last in blocked punts with two. That all added up to one of the worst seasons among all players in the position group as he ranked 27th overall in EPA/punt at -0.232.

But there was one saving grace for Dixon.

Despite the foibles, he was still adept at pinning opponents inside their own 20. Nearly half (45%) of his boots pinned his opponents deep inside their own territory. That was the 12th best rate in the NFL.

So, the Bucs opted to exercise his $3 million option for 2026. The hope was that with improved coaching, Dixon and his coverage unit could clean up the blocks and get a fully serviceable punting unit in 2026. There was reason to believe that Dixon could head up a league average unit. Stripping out blocks, he was 16th in EPA/punt in 2025.

Riley Dixon’s 2026 First Half With The Bucs

The Bucs have not allowed a punt to be blocked this year. So, in that sense this year has gone better than last for punter Riley Dixon. But beyond that, there has been little in the way of improvement. At 44.4 yards, his average punt in 2026 is shorter than 2025, despite not having any blocks factored in. Similarly, his net punt average of 38.5 yards is worse than last year as well.

The reason for the drops isn’t that he has improved his performance pinning opponents inside their 20. That has completely reversed from last year, down to 29%. He is one of the worst punters in the league in that regard, ranking 27th out of 32 qualifiers.

Bucs P Riley Dixon – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

In total, Dixon has been largely worse this year than last on a punt-to-punt basis. It’s just the extreme negative plays are gone. In some ways that’s good. His overall EPA/punt profile is, in fact, better than last year at -0.148, which is 21st overall.

But the lack of consistency and lack of positive impact aren’t present. And the Bucs are suffering as his performance is compounding a stagnant offense that is finding itself in punting situations more often. Dixon is averaging 4.6 punts per game this year. That’s a 21% increase on 2025. And opponents average starting position is their own 25.9 yard line this year, compared to their own 23.6 last year.

None of this is encouraging. And it’s certainly not worth the $3 million the Bucs are paying Dixon.

Dixon is in the final year of his two-year contract. And barring a spectacular turnaround in the back half of the season there is no reason for Tampa Bay to retain him in 2027.

His performance since coming to the Bay last year has been eminently replaceable for league minimum and the Bucs should look to upgrade in the offseason through another veteran or a rookie undrafted free agent.