There is certainly a changing of the guard for the Bucs in terms leadership on the roster. That was bound to happen after two legendary players departed after the season for various reasons, leaving a void in the locker room.

What it has created in Tampa Bay is an opportunity for new players to step up. Whether that’s players that were already on the team looking for expanded roles, or new veterans coming in that were leaders elsewhere and can bring a fresh look to a team that seemed miserable down the stretch last season.

A new voice isn’t a bad thing for the Bucs, and general manager Jason Licht is looking forward to having some up-and-coming players take the mantle and move this team ahead.

Jason Licht Reveals Who He Thinks Will Be Bucs New Leaders

“There are players that are ready to step out and become great leaders,” Jason Licht said while speaking in a pre-draft Bucs press conference this week. “We’ve seen the characteristics and the traits that they’ve had that where we think they’re going to be great leaders but maybe have taken a little bit of a back seat and didn’t want to overstep their boundaries. But I think there’s going to be quite a few of them that I think are going to come out of their shell that we’re very excited about.”

Bucs GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

So, who exactly is Licht talking about? What players does he have on the mind? He answered that next.

“We’ve got Tykee (Smith), Calijah (Kancey), the entire offensive line, Bucky (Irving),” Licht began. God forbid I leave out Vita [Vea], he’s been around for a long time but he in his own way has a lot of leadership.”

A lot of these players make sense as they are stepping into big seasons. Smith already got the seal of approval from Lavonte David when the Bucs’ legend mentioned Smith being a future captain. Kancey has a chance to prove that he can be great by playing close to a full season, and Irving has a lot to prove as well coming off of a down year, but with no Rachaad White around, it allows him to become even more vocal.

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: USA Today

The only name that may have come with eyebrow raise is Vea, considering he’s already been a team captain for several seasons. Was this Licht asking Vea to take more of a stand or just giving a nod to a player going into his own contract year?

Licht also talked about the newly signed free agents that will also take on leadership roles.

“I think some of the players that we added with Alex (Anzalone), Kenneth (Gainwell) and Miles (Killibrew),” Licht said. “I think those guys have all been very good leaders where they were, so that’s just going to help supplement what we have.”

Does Jason Licht Believe In This Bucs Team?

There are varying degrees of opinions about the Bucs heading into the 2026 season, and understandably so.

Are they going to tank this year?

Can they return to the postseason and make a deep playoff run?

Is the Super Bowl window opened or closed?

Bucs GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Jason Licht was asked about how he’s feeling about the roster just a week away from the draft and gave a vote of confide about the group. He believes in their leaders and the foundation they’ve built around this team.

“I really do like this roster,” Licht said. “I think this draft is important, every draft is important, but I’ve been around several Super Bowl teams, most recently here, obviously. I see it start it really coming to form and you don’t really fully see it until, first of all, the players all have to be here and then you have to get through training camp, and then sometimes you hit a stride at some point during the season where you start to see it.

“It can be the same team, but it could be a different dynamic. I really feel strongly about this group of guys that we have and this leadership that we have, starting with the quarterbacks.”

Pewter Report is reacting to everything that Licht had to say at his press conference on Wednesday afternoon. Watch it below and subscribe to our PewterReportTV YouTube channel.