The initial rush of free agency, and even a milder second wave of signings, has passed and NFL teams have mostly turned their eyes to the upcoming draft. There will be additional moves before and after the draft – 10 players from NFL.com's list of the top 101 free agents remain unsigned – but a good portion of the offseason roster building has already been done by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the rest of the league.
This year's free agency period began on Wednesday, March 11, and the NFL sent out a press release to mark the opening of the annual player market, within it listing a total of 532 players who had become unrestricted free agents. That's a little under 17 per team. The Miami Dolphins had the most players hit the market, with 27, while the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots tied for the fewest with six each.
In our initial look at the Buccaneers' free agency comings and goings, we obviously focused on the departure of franchise icon Mike Evans and the additions of such much-needed players on defense as linebacker Alex Anzalone and edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad, but there has plenty of additional movement since. Therefore, it's time to update our 2026 Free Agency Tracker. Here's a review of all of the Bucs' moves as of the week before the draft:
New Arrivals
• LB Alex Anzalone: Signed two-year contract on March 12
• QB Jake Browning: Signed one-year contract on March 13
• RB Kenneth Gainwell: Signed two-year contract on March 12
• CB Kemon Hall: Signed one-year contract on April 10
• S Miles Killebrew: Signed one-year contract on March 12
• CB Chase Lucas: Signed one-year contract on April 10
• OLB Al-Quadin Muhammad: Signed one-year contract on March 12
• DL Haggai Ndubuisi: Signed one-year contract on April 10
• DL Rakeem Nuñez-Roches: Signed one-year contract on April 7
• DL A'Shawn Robinson: Signed one-year contract on March 13
• LB Christian Rozeboom: Signed one-year contract on March 23
• WR David Sills: Signed one-year contract on April 7
• T Justin Skule: Signed one-year contract on April 6
Prior to the start of free agency, while speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine, General Manager Jason Licht identified outside linebacker, off-ball linebacker and defensive line as three clear areas of need for the Buccaneers' 2026 roster. He and his staff hit all three of those positions in the first week of free agency.
The most significant addition was that of Anzalone, the former Detroit Lions linebacker who should step directly into a starting role and might even wear the green dot on his helmet as the defensive play-caller. With Lavonte David's retirement and the Buccaneers wanting to give SirVocea Dennis competition for his role in 2025, the team could be looking at two new starters in 2025. Anzalone is an important first step in that pursuit; he had 95 tackles, 2.5 sacks, one interception and nine passes defensed in 2025 and offers the strong coverage in the middle of the field that the Bucs' defense badly needed. The Bucs later added another potential starter in Rozeboom, who opened 15 games for the Carolina Panthers last year and tallied 122 tackles, 2.0 sacks and an interception.
Muhammad also comes over from the Lions after a breakout 2025 campaign in which he collected 11.0 sacks despite not starting any games and playing only 41% of the defensive snaps. He also had 6.0 sacks as a 17-game starter for Indianapolis in 2021. The Bucs' quest for more pressure off the edges continues. Tampa Bay also stepped in and signed Robinson after the division-rival Panthers let him go, helping to fill the snap-count void created by the departure of Logan Hall. In April, the Bucs added to that interior line depth again by reuniting with Nuñez-Roches, who was with the team from 2018-22 and was a starter on the Super Bowl LV-winning squad.
The Bucs' biggest strike on offense was the signing of former Pittsburgh running back Kennett Gainwell, who was named the Steelers' team MVP in 2026. A versatile back with pass-catching skills – 73 receptions last season – Gainwell has a career average of 4.4 yards per carry and should be a strong complement to Bucky Irving in the Bucs' backfield. Tampa Bay also found a new backup for starting quarterback Baker Mayfield, signing Jake Browning from the Bengals. Browning has 10 career regular-season starts and had a strong stretch in 2023 as a seven-game replacement for the injured Joe Burrow, going 4-3 as a starter. The Bucs also brought back swing tackle Justin Skule after he spent the 2025 with the Minnesota Vikings, starting nine games and seeing action at both left and right tackle. The receiving room also got some added depth with the signing of former Falcon David Sills, a big target who had a career-high 18 catches in 2025 and scored two touchdowns.
Killebrew should make a big impact on the Bucs' special teams coverage units. Tampa Bay's new Special Teams Coordinator Danny Smith knows Killebrew well from their time together in Pittsburgh and saw him make the Pro Bowl in 2023 and 2024 as a special teams ace.
Hall, Lucas and Ndubuisi were not technically unrestricted free agents, but their additions shortly before the draft helped fill out the depth chart and the 90-man offseason roster. All three saw some action during the 2025 regular season.
Franchise Tag
• None.
For the third time in the last seven years, the Buccaneers did not utilize their franchise tag in 2026. Outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett got the tag in 2020, followed by wide receiver Chris Godwin in 2021 and 2022. Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. was tagged in 2024; all three players eventually stayed in Tampa on multi-year deals.
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
• CB Kindle Vildor: Signed one-year contract with New England Patriots on March 23
• RB Rachaad White: Signed one-year contract with Washington Commanders on March 13
The headliner here, of course, is Evans choosing to go 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. Vildor played just one season in Tampa, getting into 12 games with one start and recording 16 tackles and an interception. Gray was a late-season addition meant to help out on special teams.
Retired
• LB Lavonte David: Announced retirement on March 23
David started the clock on his Hall of Fame eligibility when he announced his retirement, concluding a brilliant career that positions him as one of the greatest players in franchise history. David spent 14 seasons as the heart and soul of the Buccaneers' defense, 12 as a team captain, and he finished with 1,714 tackles, 42.5 sacks, 14 interceptions, 33 forced fumbles and 21 fumble recoveries. He is one of just three players, along with Hall of Famers Rondé Barber and Derrick Brooks, to play at least 14 seasons for the Buccaneers, and his final tackle total fittingly matched that of Brooks, according to figures compiled by StatsPass.
"Once again, you know how I feel and we feel and the entire organization [feels] about Lavonte David," said Licht while David was contemplating whether or not to return for another season. "He is the staple of what we look for in a player and a person and he has also earned the right to take a step back and decide what his future is and we are giving him that respect right now."
Remaining Unrestricted Free Agents
• DL Greg Gaines
• LB Deion Jones
• G Michael Jordan
• OLB Haason Reddick
• WR Sterling Shepard
• LB Anthony Walker
The only 2025 starter on the list of remaining UFAs for the Buccaneers is Reddick, and he was limited to 12 starts and 2.5 sacks by a pair of leg injuries. From 2020-23, Reddick compiled 50.5 sacks and topped double digits in each of those four seasons. Jordan started nine games for the Bucs in 2025, seeing action at both left and right guard due to a variety of O-Line injuries. Shepard helped keep the Bucs' passing attack moving during injury absences by Evans, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan, catching 39 passes, but by the end of the season was a healthy scratch.
Jones was primarily a special teams contributors in 2025. Gaines was a rotational player on the defensive line for the third season in a row and Walker spent much of the season on the Colts' practice squad before returning to the Bucs late in the year.
Remaining Restricted Free Agents
• RB Sean Tucker
Restricted free agents (RFAs) are players with three years of accrued free agency credit and an expired contract. They become RFAs if their team extends the necessary tender offer prior to the start of the free agency, and then they may negotiate with other teams while their original team has an opportunity to match any deal they get. Tucker was the only one of three potential RFAs to whom the Bucs extended a tender offer. An undrafted free agent in 2023, he has rushed for 641 yards and nine touchdowns in three seasons and when given an opportunity has produced two 100-yard rushing games.
Remaining Exclusive Rights Free Agents
• None
Exclusive rights free agents (ERFAs) are players with expired contracts and two or fewer seasons of accrued free agency credit. If they get the qualifying offer to make them ERFAs before free agency begins they can only re-sign with their current team. The Buccaneers only had one player who could have become an ERFA, long-snapper Evan Deckers, but he signed a renegotiated deal on March 10.
Non-Tendered Free Agents
• OLB Markees Watts
Players who could have become restricted or exclusive rights free agents become equivalent to unrestricted free agents if they do not receive a qualifying offer from their respective teams. This was the case for Izien and Watts. Watts was an undrafted free agent in 2023 who has appeared in 27 games over three seasons and has notched 1.5 sacks. He got into a career-high 15 games last season, mostly on special teams, where he had a 61% snap share.
