Leading up to kickoff of the 2026 NFL season, TeamFB7 is going in-depth on each team from its strengths and weaknesses to breakout players, intriguing rookies and overall predictions. We’re working backward from our preseason power rankings. Next up are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 22.
This could be the final stand for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their current incarnation.
Key pieces of the foundation have already chipped off, with linebacker Lavonte David retiring after 14 seasons with the franchise and wide receiver Mike Evans leaving for the San Francisco 49ers in free agency after 12 seasons in Tampa bay.
Only five players remain on the roster from the 2020 team that won the Super Bowl with Tom Brady and Co. — wide receiver Chris Godwin, left tackle Tristan Wirfs, safety Antoine Winfield Jr., nose tackle Vita Vea and outside linebacker Anthony Nelson. (Additionally, defensive lineman Rakeem Nunez-Roches has rejoined the Bucs after three years away and cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting is back on the practice squad).
Nelson is in the final year of his contract, and Godwin has a $22 million club option (that costs even more against the salary cap) for 2027 and could well be in his final season with the team after struggling to return to form from the severe ankle injury that ended his 2024 season early.
Meanwhile, head coach Todd Bowles, the defensive coordinator on that Super Bowl team and former coach Bruce Arians’ hand-picked successor, is very likely coaching for his job this season. Bowles is just 35-33 in four seasons as the Bucs’ head coach with one playoff win and coming off an 8-9 finish that fell short of the postseason.
For the sake of the narrative, quarterback Baker Mayfield’s future in Tampa Bay is tenuous too.
He had nothing to do with the Super Bowl LV team, but he provided a seeming extension to the Bucs’ window for contending since coming aboard in 2023. He’s in the final season of a three-year, $100-million contract and was vocal over the summer about his frustration at not receiving a new deal to his liking.
The point in all that being … there is a much riding on this Buccaneers season for many individuals — more so than the normal stakes that every NFL season carries.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Reset
2025 Finish: 8-9, missed playoffs
Head Coach: Todd Bowles, fifth season (35-33, 1-3 playoffs)
Hot Seat Meter (0-10): 7
Offensive Coordinator: Zac Robinson, first season (Falcons OC 2024-25)
Defensive Coordinator: None (Bowles oversees the defense)
Best Offseason Move: Reaching an extension with DT Vita Vea
Vea was a hold-in during training camp and requested a trade while seeking more long-term security entering the final year of his contract.
Ultimately, the Bucs quelled the standoff by adding $6 million to bring his 2026 salary to $24 million and guaranteeing another $24 million in 2027.
For a team just trying to plug holes in the ship and hold it together a season at a time, it was the right move. Keeping Vea, the massive tone-setting defensive tackle, was essential to anything Tampa Bay hopes to accomplish ths year.
Worst Offseason Move: Losing WR Mike Evans in free agency
Ultimately, it seems, the Bucs didn’t have much say in the matter.
Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht said the Bucs “made a significantly higher offer [than the 49ers] and that was just the first offer” before Evans signed a three-year, $42.5-million deal (with mostly just the first year guaranteed) with San Francisco.
“The money was not the biggest factor for me. It was just football and something that I can be excited about,” Evans said, per ESPN.
It’s not a great look for Tampa Bay that one of its franchise icons took purportedly less money to sign elsewhere rather than return, just a couple years after suggesting he planned to finish his career with the Bucs.
More than that, though, it leaves a sizeable hole on the team.
As noted, Godwin has struggled in his return from a significant 2024 ankle injury, catching 33 passes for 360 yards and 2 TDs in nine games last season while dealing with further physical setbacks.
Emeka Egbuka was impressive as a rookie last year with 63 catches for 938 yards and 6 TDs, but his production tailed off significantly down the stretch (perhaps simply tied to Mayfield not being fully healthy).
Beyond those two, the Bucs will be counting heavily on Jalen McMillan, limited to just 17 games over his two seasons, Tez Johnson (44-322-5 as a rookie) and third-round rookie Ted Hurst.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Roster Breakdown
Biggest Strength: Offensive line … if healthy
Tampa Bay landed at No. 3 on PFF’s preseason ranking of the best offensive lines in the NFL, but that unit didn’t play a single game together last season.
Wirfs, the left tackle, is a five-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time first-team All-Pro who was limited to 12 games last season by various injuries. He then missed much of training camp due to a hamstring injury but is expected to be ready for the opener this week.
Right tackle Luke Goedeke, entering his fifth year as a starter, missed six games with a foot injury last season but should also be full-strength to start the season. Per PFF, he didn’t allow a sack or QB hit on 416 pass-blocking snaps last season.
Left guard Ben Bredeson also missed six games while sustaining a season-ending knee injury and right guard Cody Mauch sustained a season-ending torn meniscus in his knee in Week 2. Center Graham Barton, now with two years of experience, was the only healthy starter for the Bucs’ O-line.
Biggest Weakness: Cornerback
Along with Evans, the Bucs’ biggest free agency loss was cornerback Jamel Dean, whom PFF graded third out of 114 cornerbacks last season. Dean signed a three-year, $36.75-million deal with the Steelers, and the Bucs didn’t really replace him.
Tampa Bay is counting on big seasons from incumbents Zyon McCollum, Jacob Parrish and Benjamin Morrison while fourth-round draft pick Keionte Scott (out of Miami) settles into the nickel role.
Theres potential for the unit but a lot to prove as Parrish started five games as a rookie last year and Morrison played just 10 games (3 starts) as a rookie.
Most Intriguing Rookie: EDGE Rueben Bain Jr.
Rueben Bain Jr. felt like a draft steal with the No. 15 overall pick, and Tampa Bay is indeed counting on him to be an immediate force off the edge.
The Miami standout was one of the major catalysts in the Hurricanes reaching the national championship game last season, tallying 9.5 sacks, 15.5 tackles for loss and, per PFF’s count, 67 total pressures.
Breakout Player: Wide receiver Jalen McMillan
McMillan, a third-round pick in 2024, had 37 receptions for 461 yards and 8 TDs in 13 games as a rookie before sustaining a neck injury last preseason that ultimately limited him to just four games.
He is the biggest beneficiary of Evans’ departure and is set to be a starter on the outside opposite Egbuka.
A career year should be in store for McMillan if he can stay on the field.
MVP Pick: QB Baker Mayfield
It’s not hard to understand that difference between the Buccaneers’ 6-2 start last year and the team then losing seven of its final nine games to miss the playoffs.
Through the first six games last season, Mayfield was playing at an MVP level while averaging 256.5 passing yards per game with a sterling 12 TDs to just 1 INT.
The rest of the way, he averaged 195.8 passing yards with 14 TDs and 10 INTs.
Mayfield later revealed on Netflix’s “Quarterback” series the extent of the injuries he was playing through, including a strained MCL and PCL in his knee starting in Week 2, a biceps contusion on his throwing arm that affected his velocity and an injured left non-throwing shoulder among other ailments.
Couple that with the injury-riddled offensive line and it makes sense that the Bucs sustained a sharp drop-off.
Mayfield is playing for next contract now, and if fully healthy, he could return to the level he was playing at in 2024 when he passed for 4,500 yards, 41 TDs and 16 INTs.
2026 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Time |
| Week 1, Sept. 13 | at Cincinnati Bengals | 1 p.m. |
| Week 2, Sept. 20 | vs. Cleveland Browns | 1 p.m. |
| Week 3, Sept. 27 | vs. Minnesota Vikings | 4:05 p.m. |
| Week 4, Oct. 4 | vs. Green Bay Packers | 1 p.m. |
| Week 5, Oct. 8 (Thursday) | at Dallas Cowboys | 8:15 p.m. |
| Week 6, Oct. 18 | vs. Pittsburgh Steelers | 1 p.m. |
| Week 7, Oct. 25 | at Carolina Panthers | 1 p.m. |
| Week 8, Nov. 1 | vs. Atlanta Falcons | 1 p.m. |
| Week 9, Nov. 8 | at Chicago Bears | 8:20 p.m. |
| Week 10 | BYE WEEK | |
| Week 11, Nov. 22 | at Detroit Lions | 1 p.m. |
| Week 12, Nov. 30 (Monday) | vs. Carolina Panthers | 8:15 p.m. |
| Week 13, Dec. 6 | vs. Los Angeles Chargers | 1 p.m. |
| Week 14, Dec. 13 | at Baltimore Ravens | 1 p.m. |
| Week 15, Dec. 20 | vs. New Orleans Saints | 1 p.m. |
| Week 16, TBD (Flex Game) | at Atlanta Falcons | TBD |
| Week 17, TBD (Flex Game) | vs. Los Angeles Rams | TBD |
| Week 18, TBD (Flex Game) | at New Orleans Saints | TBD |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Season Prediction And Parting Thoughts
Season Prediction: 8-9
With a healthy Mayfield, healthy offensive line and healthy Godwin/McMillan, the Bucs could be a feisty offense again even without Evans, as the running back tandem of Bucky Irving and free agent addition Kenny Gainwell is intriguing as well.
But that’s already a lot of “ifs” and optimism.
The Bucs also need a young secondary to solidify quickly and Bain to be an immediate impact off the edge as a rookie.
There’s also the reality that Bowles has gone 8-9 or 9-8 in three of his four seasons in Tampa and, more to the point, has just two 10-win seasons and one playoff win in eight years as a head coach (including his time with the Jets).
What in all of that inspires the confidence that this is ultimately going to be any better than a .500ish team?
And then there’s the schedule.
Yes, the NFC South should again be the worst division in football, but even if the Bucs sweep all six conference games (they won’t), the only other clearly favorable matchup on the schedule is Browns in Week 2. Otherwise, Tampa Bay plays:
– The rest of the AFC North, where the Ravens are Super Bowl contenders, the Bengals should be better with a healthy Joe Burrow and the Steelers should also be improved with offensive upgrades and a healthy T.J. Watt.
– The NFC North, which is one of the top three divisions in the NFL and even better than a year ago now that the Vikings actually have a quarterback, the Bears are only getting better and the Lions should bounce back with all their talent.
– The Cowboys, with a seemingly improved defense and still-loaded offense, on the road.
– And two more Super Bowl contenders in the Chargers and Rams, for good measure.
We may have the Bucs a little lower than most lists, and in an optimal outcome they do have 10-win potential, but we’ll take the under. (DraftKings Sportsbook has Tampa Bay’s over/under set at 8.5 wins.)
