When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers surprisingly used a first-round pick on Ohio State widereceiver Emeka Egbuka last spring, visions of an unstoppable four-wide combination danced in the heads of the team's fans. If Egbuka was the real deal – and he quickly proved he was – how would opposing defenses handle the combination of him, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan?
Unfortunately for the 2025 Buccaneers, who saw their impressive streak of four straight NFC South championships snapped on a tiebreaker, that foursome saw very little time together on the field. Godwin missed eight games, Evans nine and McMillan 14. Egbuka was far and away the team's receiving leader, with 63 catches for 938 yards and six touchdowns.
The Bucs' second-leading pass-catcher among wideouts? We haven't mentioned his name yet. That would be 10th-year veteran Sterling Shepard, who finished the season with 39 grabs for 371 yards and one touchdown despite essentially being a healthy scratch over the last three games when that fantasy foursome did finally coalesce.
Shepard was a second-round draft pick by the Giants in 2016, and he had eight quite productive years in New York, though the back end of that run was limited by injuries. After his contract expired at the end of the 2023 season, he wasn't immediately on any team's radar. The Giants did not try to re-sign him and he was at home in June, believing that his career possibly might have run its course. However, an old friend unexpectedly opened up a new opportunity.
With input from quarterback Baker Mayfield, who played with Shepard at the University of Oklahoma for one very productive season for both, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers called with an invite to come south. Shepard signed with the Buccaneers and came to training camp, and while he initially started the season on the practice squad he would go on to play in 14 games and catch 32 passes. He had an easy chemistry with Mayfield that made him a valuable depth addition who filled in nicely when injuries hit the position. He also remains an energetic presence on the field who can get Mayfield and his other teammates fired up.
Now Shepard is headed towards free agency again and the question is whether or not he and the Buccaneers will extend the relationship to a third season. He is one of 17 players from the Bucs'final 2025 roster (including reserve lists) who could become unrestricted free agents (UFAs) on March 11. In the weeks between the Super Bowl and that kickoff to the new league year, we are taking a closer look at nine of those 17 players, examining where they are in their careers, what they have accomplished recently and what the free agency and the draft fields look like at their positions.
This is the full schedule of our 2026 Free Agent Focus rundown:
February 11: LB Lavonte David
February 13: WR Mike Evans
February 18: DL Logan Hall
February 20: TE Ko Kieft
February 25: RB Rachaad White
February 27: CB Jamel Dean
March 4: WR Sterling Shepard
March 5: TE Cade Otton
March 6: OLB Haason Reddick
This list is subject to change based on potential roster moves prior to the start of free agency. However, we continue this week with a wideout who proved over the past two seasons that he still had fuel left in the tank.
Player: Sterling Shepard
Position: Wide Receiver
Age at the Start of the 2026 Season: 33
Experience: Entering 11th NFL season
How Acquired: Signed as a free agent on July 10, 2024. Re-signed for the 2025 season on March 24, 2025. Shepard was originally a second-round draft pick of the New York Giants in 2024.
Previous Contract(s): In 2016, Shepard signed the standard four-year contract that all players drafted in Rounds 2-7 receive, in his case with the Giants. In 2019, prior to the final season of that deal, he agreed to a four-year extension that ran through the 2023 campaign.
Rank in Pro Football Focus Top 250 NFL Free Agents for 2026: Not ranked.
2025 Performance: Shepard played in the first 13 games of the season, starting two contests, before sitting out the final four. He was active but did not get into the team's Week 14 contest against Atlanta, then was inactive for the last three games of the season. As noted above, he finished with 39 receptions for 371 yards and one score. That catch total ranked fourth among all Buccaneers in 2025 and second among wide receivers.
Shepard produced the majority of that stat line in the first half of the season, when the team was dealing with various absences from Evans, Godwin and McMillan. He had 26 of his 39 catches and 267 yards in he first seven weeks. That included a season-high seven catches against Detroit in Week Seven and a high of 80 yards on four grabs against the Jets in Week Three. His lone touchdown of the season was a big one for the Buccaneers. In a Week Five shootout win over the eventual Super Bowl champion Seahawks in Seattle, Shepard worked free in the back of the end zone and a scrambling Mayfield found him for an 11-yard touchdown that tied the game at 35-35 with just over a minute left in regulation.
Career Accomplishments: In 10 NFL seasons, Shepard has played in 117 games and made 81starts, including 27 games and seven starts for the Buccaneers. His career totals so far include443 receptions for 4,800 yards and 25 touchdowns. He has also carried the ball 36 times for 274 yards and an additional score, including 12 runs for 88 yards as a Buccaneer.
Shepard was very productive early in his career for the Giants, catching at least 57 passes in each of his first five seasons and scoring 18 touchdowns in that span. In his last three seasons in New York he appeared in just 25 games and thus saw his production dip. Nevertheless, he ranks fifth in Giants history with 372 receptions for the franchise.
Other Potential Free Agent Wide Receivers: George Pickens (Cowboys), Deebo Samuel (Commanders), Alec Pierce (Colts), Romeo Doubs (Packers), Jauan Jennings (49ers), Wan'Dale Robinson (Giants), Rashid Shaheed (Seahawks), Christian Kirk (Texans), Keenan Allen (Chargers), Jalen Nailor (Vikings)
Top Wide Receiver Prospects in 2026 NFL Draft: Jordyn Tyson (Arizona State), Carnell Tate (Ohio State), Makai Lemon (USC), Denzel Boston (Washington), Chris Brazzell (Tennessee), KC Concepcion (Texas A&M), Elijah Sarratt (Indiana), Antonio Williams (Clemson), Eugene Wilson (Florida), Malachi Fields (Notre Dame), Skyler Bell (Connecticut), Deion Burks (Oklahoma), CJ Daniels (Miami), Zachariah Branch (Georgia)
