Tampa Bay Buccaneers Have Tough Decisions to Make Regarding In-House Free Agents
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have some tough decisions coming this offseason. With 18 unrestricted free agents including Mike Evans, Devin White, Lavonte David, Baker Mayfield, and Chase McLaughlin, and $47 million in cap space the Bucs will need to be strategic about how they disperse the money. The first order of business should be extending left tackle Tristan Wirfs. The Pro Bowl tackle is set to make $18.2 million on his fifth-year option due to escalators for making Pro Bowls and All-Pros. The Bucs can, and likely will bring that number down with a market setting extension. Beyond the big-name players, the Buccaneers have several role players they’ll need to consider bringing back as well. Greg Gaines, Aaron Stinnie, Cam Gill, Zach Triner, and Pat O’Connor are all unrestricted free agents. While Dee Delaney and Nick Leverett are restricted free agents, Tampa Bay will need to weigh the pros and cons of extending them tenders.
Pro Football Focus recently put out their list of the top free agents in 2024 and a few Bucs made the list. Antoine Winfield Jr. landed as the eighth-best player available, with PFF writing this about the Pro Bowl safety. “Winfield can line up in the box, take on receivers in the slot and play as a roaming deep-third free safety, finding success in single-high and two-high coverage shells. The former second-round pick is a difference-maker on the backend, and his remarkable versatility carries value at a position that appreciates it more than perhaps any other.” PFF expects the Franchise Tag for Winfield in 2024, which is expected to come in at around $14.4 million. Mike Evans was next on the list coming in at 13.
“Another starting quarterback in Tampa Bay? Another 1,000-yard season from Mike Evans. The record-setting 10th straight season to start a career with 1,000-plus yards is one thing, but an 83.9 receiving grade with double-digit touchdowns for the third time in four years is extraordinary. Evans’ free agency will be tricky and has a wide range of outcomes, with nagging soft-tissue injuries seemingly bothering him weekly for years now. There could also be sticker shock with recent outcomes on 30-plus-year-old receivers. Nonetheless, there is no reason he should ask for less than the recent crop of players, including Davante Adams, who effectively signed a three-year, $67.7 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders.” PFF has Evans projected contract as a three-year deal, $69 million ($23 million per year), $52.5 million total guaranteed. I would be surprised if the Bucs aren’t in the running for a contract structured like that. However, if Evans holds fast to the reported “Cooper Kupp” money of around $27 million per year Tampa Bay will surely be out of the conversation.
The final player on PFF’s top 50 free agent list is veteran linebacker Lavonte David who comes in at 39. “David is earning his lowest overall grade since 2016 so far in 2023 but is still Mr. Reliable with a run-defense gradeabove 70.0 and a 65.0-plus coverage grade for the seventh consecutive year. David is one of the greatest coverage linebackers to ever play the game, and as more time passes, his thinking one step ahead of the opposing quarterback is on display more and more each week, overcoming some physical limitations through an unrivaled knowledge of the game. As a free agent last year, David didn’t push very hard to maximize his earnings, and it appears he may be content entering his 13th season all with Tampa Bay.”
David’s project contract is a $4 million deal fully guaranteed. It’s unlikely the Bucs’ longest-tenured player signs with any other team and the Bucs would likely love to have him back, especially at that valuation. Of the Bucs free agents omitted from the list was most notably linebacker Devin White. The fifth-year linebacker requested a trade this offseason after not receiving a contract extension after asking for a reported deal ranging in the $18-20 million per year. Injuries and inconsistency in play have made it difficult to see him coming anywhere close to that amount and likely to see him depart Tampa Bay in free agency.
