In the coming days, I’ll be doing brief synopses for each NFL team regarding their current cap situation and offseason approach they should take.
We’ll start with the teams that have the most cap space available, then work our way down to those teams who have less cap space, to those who have work to do to gain cap space.
Each synopsis will look at cap space (or how much over the cap), players under contract, total draft picks, any players with a fifth-year option decision ahead and notes about the most notable free agent, the most likely player cut and the quarterback situation.
In this installment, we’ll look at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Players under contract for 2026: 52
Projected cap space: $23.8M
Total draft picks: Seven (No. 15 in first round)
Most notable free agent: Jamel Dean
Most likely roster cut: None
Fifth-year option decision: Calijah Kancey
Quarterback situation: Baker Mayfield will likely be the starter but the Buccaneers need to draft a QB for a fallback option.
The ideal offseason approach:
The Buccaneers won a weak division in the 2023 and 2024 seasons but failed to close out in 2025. They need to reassess the roster and that may mean being selective in free agency.
It wouldn’t surprise me if the Buccaneers let most of their free agents depart. The majority of them are older players and it would help for the Bucs to get younger. Dean is a talented player but he probably isn’t worth the franchise tag.
The only reason I didn’t list a roster cut is because there isn’t much the Buccaneers can do to gain cap space there, aside from Vita Vea, who played well in 2025 and, thus, the Bucs may be inclined not to cut him. But if the Bucs want more cap space, they need to decide if Vea is worth restructuring his deal or if they may need to trade him.