The period often referred to as the "eighth round" of the NFL Draft has yielded the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14 more players. If the team's recent trend continues, some of these 14 additions will make an impact on the Buccaneers' 2026 season.

On Friday, during the first day of their annual rookie camp, the Buccaneers announced the signings of a round of undrafted free agents, including Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels, Georgia Tech wide receiver Eric Rivers Jr. and LSU outside linebacker Jack Pyburn. Most of these transactions were likely agreed upon shortly after the end of the 2026 draft but became official when the players arrived at team headquarters on Thursday and signed their first NFL contracts.

Last spring, the Buccaneers signed 15 rookie free agents prior to their rookie camp and two more after the camp's conclusion. Five of those 17 players spent time on the active roster during the regular season: quarterback Connor Bazelak, linebacker John Bullock, tackle Benjamin Chukwuma, linebacker Nick Jackson and running back Josh Williams. Chukwuma started two games, one each at left and right tackle. Two others – wide receiver Garrett Greene and guard Ben Scott – spent all of 2025 on Tampa Bay's practice squad and a third, safety J.J. Roberts, was on injured reserve throughout the campaign.

Similarly, in 2024 the Buccaneers signed 13 rookies after the draft and nine of them saw significant time on the Buccaneers' active roster and/or practice squad that season. In addition to last year's group, players on the current roster who began their professional careers as undrafted signees with Tampa Bay include running back Sean Tucker, safety Rashad Wisdom and Kameron Johnson.

Who will make that leap this year? Here are the 13 players the Buccaneers have signed so far as undrafted free agents (UDFAs) in 2026:

Brown (6-2, 215) handled the long-snapping duties at Fresno State for the past two seasons, seeing action in 26 games and earning Academic All-Conference honors in 2024. Prior to attending Fresno State he spent two seasons at San Mateo Junior College, where he also played wide receiver, and one at California.

Conley (6-1, 215) is coming off a strong senior season at Charlotte in which he notched a career-high three interceptions to go with 64 tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He played his final two seasons at Charlotte after spending three years at North Carolina. In total, he appeared in 40 collegiate games and compiled 171 tackles, five interceptions, 2.0 sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

Daniels (6-1, 219) started 45 games over six years at Kansas and became the first four-time team captain in the program's history. He finished his career ranked second in school annals in both passing yards (9,282) and touchdown passes (67) and he also ran for 1,447 yards and an additional 23 scores. In 2025, Daniels started 12 games for the Jayhawks and threw for 2,531 yards, 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions, adding 404 yards and four scores on the ground. He was a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, which is considered the Academic Heisman.

Fletcher (6-3, 252) played 41 games over four seasons at Rutgers, the first 24 as a defensive end before converting to tight end in his third season. In his two seasons on the offensive side of the ball, he snared 46 receptions for 373 yards and two touchdowns. As a defensive end he tallied 10tackles 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Last season, Fletcher started 10 of the 11 games in which he played and recorded 26 receptions for 236 yards.

Fordham (6-1, 232) played in 48 games over five years at North Carolina State, starting all 13 games as a senior in 2025. His final season proved to be a breakout campaign in which he earned third-team Associated Press All-American honors after racking up 143 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 10.0 tackles for loss, two interceptions, three passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. His tackle total ranked second among all FBS players.

Garnes (6-0, 183) wrapped up his collegiate tenure with a season at Arizona after one year at West Virginia and two at Duquesne. In 2025, he contributed to a Wildcats secondary that rankedfirst in the nation in pass efficiency defense (97.20), collecting 43 tackles, one interception and eight passes defensed. His season at WVU was limited by injury to six games but he pitched in with 25 tackles and a pass defensed.

Green (6-1, 279) spent most of his collegiate career at Dartmouth but finished with a final season at Duke in 2025. For the Blue Devils, he appeared in 14 games and tallied 28 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 7.0 tackles for loss and three passes defensed. At Dartmouth, Green was a first-team All-Ivy League selection in 2024 after earning second-team honors in 2023. Overall, he played in 44games at the two schools combined and recorded 157 tackles and 8.0 sacks.

Laros (6-2, 220) originally hails from Cape Town, South Africa, moving with his family to North Carolina before his freshman year of high school. He played the past two seasons at Kentucky after two at Charlotte and one at Tennessee-Martin. He handled both punting and kickoff duties for the Wildcats for most of the 2024-25 seasons, with a gross average of 45.8 yards on 134 total punts. Laros also produced 49 touchbacks on 60 kickoffs while at Tennessee.

Lutovsky (6-6, 320) played in 49 games across five years at Nebraska, logging 24 starts across the past two campaigns. After opening 11 games at right guard in 2024, he moved to left guard last season and opened all 13 of the Cornhuskers outings. Lutovsky and his fellow blockers helped running back Emmett Johnson compile a nation-leading 1,451 rushing yards and average 5.8 yards per tote.

McKnight (6-3, 288) played the 2025 season at Arizona after stops at Appalachian State and Tennessee-Martin. For the Wildcats, he played in 13 games with 10 starts and earned honorable mention all-conference recognition after recording 26 tackles, 2.0 sacks and 11.0 tackles for loss. At UT Martin in 2024, McKnight played in 14 games and contributed 21 tackles, 4.0 sacks and a forced fumble.

Pyburn (6-4, 258) played three seasons at Florida but wrapped up his college days at LSU in 2025, where he started 11 of the 12 games in which he appeared. In addition to 52 tackles last season for the Tigers, he recorded career highs in sacks (2.0) and tackles for loss (5.5) and added eight quarterback hits, a pass defensed and a fumble recovery. Pyburn also started eight games for the Gators in 2024 and had 60 tackles, 1.0 sack, 4.0 tackles for loss, an interception and a forced fumble.

Rivers (5-10, 176) began his collegiate trace at Memphis, playing two seasons for Tigers and two at Florida International before transferring to Georgia Tech in 2025. In his lone season with the Yellow Jackets, he led the team with 658 receiving yards on 46 catches, scoring twice and also rushing seven times for 56 yards. For FIU in 2024, Rivers compiled 62 receptions for 1,172 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging 18.9 yards per grab.

Rubelt (6-10, 313) started 22 games over his final two seasons at UCF, 12 at right tackle in 2024 and then another 10 at left tackle last season. In all, he spent six years with the Knights, appearing in 62 total contests. A native of Frankfurt-Oder, Germany, Rubelt spent just one year in the United States prior to attending UCF, first encountering American football as a high school freshman in Rockford, Illinois. He subsequently played for the Frankfurt-Oder American Football Club. Since he is a product of the NFL's International Player Pathway Program, Rubelt carries a roster exemption and will not count against the 90-man offseason limit.

Short (6-0, 193) played four seasons at West Point, appearing in 47 games with 36 starts. In 2025, he led the Black Knights with 32 receptions and 438 receiving yards and tied for the top spot with a pair of touchdown catches, while also rushing 98 times for 571 yards and another score. Over his four seasons, Short surpassed 1,000 yards in both rushing and receiving, turning 176 carries into 1,148 yards (6.5 avg.) and 67 catches into 1,008 yards (15.0 avg.) while scoring a total of 10 touchdowns.