Re-Signed Players
• G Dan Feeney: Signed one-year contract on March 16
• TE Ko Kieft: Signed one-year contract on March 16
• TE Cade Otton: Signed three-year contract extension on March 12
One of the Bucs’ first moves at the start of the new league year was to get a deal done with Otton, whose all-around contributions were obviously deemed as very valuable. Otton has played more offensive snaps than any other tight end in the NFL over the past three seasons and has not seen his playing time dip below 92% in any of those three campaigns. He has had at least 42 catches in each of his four seasons, including exactly 59 in both 2024 and 2025, and is an important part of the team’s run and pass-blocking, as well. Fellow 2022 draft pick Ko Kieft, a tight end of a very different sort, also is staying in Tampa for at least one more season. He missed most of last season with a leg injury but is a tenacious blocker who lines up in multiple positions. The Bucs signed Feeney off Buffalo’s practice squad in September and he ended up starting 10 games at guard due to a rash of O-Line injuries. The Bucs expect to have all five starters from a line that was dominant in 2024 back in action in 2026, but Feeney offers reliable depth at the very least.
Players Released, Traded and/or Signed by Other Teams
• QB Teddy Bridgewater: Reportedly signing with Detroit Lions
• CB Jamel Dean: Signed three-year contract with Pittsburgh Steelers on March 13
• WR Mike Evans: Signed three-year contract with San Francisco 49ers on March 12
• DL Logan Hall: Signed two-year contract with Houston Texans on March 13
• T Charlie Heck: Signed one-year contract with Miami Dolphins on March 16
• S Christian Izien: Signed one-year contract with Detroit Lions on March 13
• RB Rachaad White: Signed one-year contract with Washington Commanders on March 13
Again, the headliner here is Evans choosing to the other Bay area for the latter stage of his career. Evans is a near lock to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame based on what he has already done in Tampa, which includes a record-tying 11 straight 1,000-yard receiving campaigns and the 10th most touchdown receptions in NFL history. Evans got a three-year deal with the 49ers.
“My first draft pick as general manager in 2014 was a 20-year-old Mike Evans,” said Licht. “From the moment he walked in the door, Mike made an immediate and lasting impact on our franchise. Over the years, we watched him grow, thrive and develop into a franchise icon whose legacy will carry on well past his playing days. He has always meant a great deal to me professionally and personally, so it’s difficult to see him go elsewhere. I wish Mike, Ashli and their family the best as they move on.”
Dean made the most of a strong 2025 campaign, signing a three-year, $36.5 million pact with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Though injuries kept him out of three games, Dean had a career-high three interceptions while breaking up nine passes. Drafted by the Buccaneers in the third round in 2019, Dean started 96 games with 77 starts for the Buccaneers and recorded 11 interceptions and 61 passes defensed.
Hall was the Bucs’ first pick in the 2022 draft, taking with the first pick in the second round after a Day One trade down. He had a career-high 5.5 sacks in 2024 but just 1.5 last season. Heck was a swing tackle on a one-year deal with the Bucs in 2025, making six starts. Bridgewater backed up Baker Mayfield but only threw 15 passes.
White, like Hall a member of the Bucs’ 2022 draft class, topped 1,000 yards from scrimmage in both 2023 and 2024 but ceded the starting job to Irving late in the ’24 campaign. With Irving missing time to injury in 2025, White had another 790 yards from scrimmage last fall.
Izien was not extended a tender offer as a potential restricted free agent, which made him eligible to sign with any team once free agency began. A former undrafted free agent, he proved valuable to the Buccaneers over three seasons due to his versatility, seeing action at times in the slot, as a safety and even in a pinch at outside cornerback.