The Collective Bargaining Agreement that the NFL and NFLPA agreed on in 2011 introduced a new system for draft-pick contracts, not only codifying salary amounts by pick but also removing any variation in contract lengths. Subsquent CBAs have retained that system to today. All first-round picks get a four-year deal plus a team option for a fifth season. All picks in the remaining rounds get four-year contracts.
That means that virtually every year – barring a draft class that goes terribly wrong – each NFL team has a small but potentially important group of players who are entering the final year of their rookie deals. While drafted players are eligible to sign new or extended contracts after the conclusion of their third season, many do not. And some draft picks, of course, don't make it to their fourth season with their original teams.
Take last year's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, for example. The 2025 season was the last one on the rookie deals for all of the team's 2022 draft picks. In the end, there was a wide range of outcomes for the eight players the Buccaneers selected in that draft.
Fourth-round punter Jake Camarda and seventh-round edge rusher Andre Anthony were no longer with the organization in 2025. Shortly before the season, the Buccaneers reached agreement on new or extended deals for second-round tackle Luke Goedeke (through 2029) and fifth-round cornerback Zyon McCollum (through 2028).
First-round defensive lineman Logan Hall and third-round running back Rachaad White played out their rookie deals, hit free agency this past March and signed new deals with the Houston Texans and Washington Commanders, respectively. Fourth-round tight end Cade Otton and sixth-round tight end Ko Kieft also played out their rookie deals in 2025 but then re-signed with the Buccaneers in the first week of free agency. Otton's second contract runs through 2028 while Kieft inked a one-year pact for 2026.
With all of those situations resolved, one way or another, the system now delivers another draft class that enters the 2026 season in a similar situation. Here are the players the Buccaneers selected in the 2023 draft, what they have contributed through their first three seasons and what their status is headed into campaign number four.
First-Round DL Calijah Kancey – Fifth-Year Team Option Exercised
Teams must decide between the third and fourth season of a first-round draft pick's contract whether or not they want to pick up the fifth-year option, which comes with a significant salary bump. The Buccaneers announced on April 27, shortly before the May 1 deadline, that they would pick up that option, so Kancey remains under contract through the 2027 season, unlike his fellow 2023 draftees.
It was not a difficult decision for the Buccaneers because Kancey, selected 19th overall out of Pittsburgh, has been the type of impact defender they expected when he's been on the field. The only issue for Kancey has been availability – he has not yet played a full season and has missed a total of 22 games due to injuries. Last year, a pectoral injury suffered in Week Two limited him to just three outings. Early in this year's offseason workout program, Kancey said that his number-one goal for the 2026 season is to play all 17 games.
Still, in the 29 games he has played, he has provided the type of pass rush that is difficult to find in an interior linemen. He has 11.5 sacks, 22 tackles for loss and 30 QB hits in those 29 games, and according to NFL Next Gen Stats he has produced 66 QB pressures, an average of more than two per game. In 2024, Kancey racked up a team-leading 7.5 sacks in just 12 games, hinting at double-digit potential. The last interior lineman to record a double-digit sack season for the Buccaneers was Hall of Famer Warren Sapp.
Second-Round G Cody Mauch – Entering Final Season of Rookie Contract
Mauch has been a starter since he walked into the building. A converted offensive tackle out of North Dakota State, Mauch locked down the right guard spot and started all 34 games over his first two seasons. After adding weight and strength in his first full NFL offseason, Mauch took a big step forward in 2024 and was part of one of the most effective offensive lines in the league. He didn't get much of a chance to build on that last season due to a torn meniscus suffered in the second game, but he recently declared himself fully recovered and is expected to be a rock on the Bucs' line again in 2026.
Third-Round OLB Yaya Diaby – Entering Final Season of Rookie Contract
Diaby, drafted 82nd overall out of Louisville, has been one of the Bucs' most notable value picks in recent years. The Bucs were interested in him in the draft because they believed he would be an excellent edge-setter against the run, but his pass-rush potential was less certain. As it turned out, that part of Diaby's game has proved to be quite good, and he has generated 19.0 sacks, 38 tackles for loss and 47 QB hits through three seasons. The Bucs anticipate him being a big part of a much more robust edge rush rotation in 2026 after the acquisitions of Rueben Bain Jr. and Al-Quadin Muhammad.
Fifth-Round LB SirVocea Dennis – Entering Final Season of Rookie Contract
The Buccaneers did not have a pick in the fourth round of the 2023 draft because they had traded it a year earlier to Jacksonville in order to get the 2022 fifth-round selection they used on McCollum. In the fifth round, they went back to the Pitt well to get off-ball linebacker SirVocea Dennis, who had been a versatile defender with the Panthers, showing both coverage and blitzing abilities.
Dennis played primarily on special teams as a rookie but was used in a rotational role early in his second season, showing notable promise as a passing-down substitute. However, a shoulder injury knocked him out for the season after just four games. Still, that brief cameo put him in line to start the 2025 season, which he did next to Lavonte David. Dennis started all 16 games in which he played and generated 101 tackles, one interception, five passes defensed and 3.0 sacks. The Bucs signed former Lion Alex Anzalone in free agency and drafted Missouri's Josiah Trotter in the second round in April, so Dennis will have to compete for playing time in 2026.
Fifth-Round TE Payne Durham – Entering Final Season of Rookie Contract
The Buccaneers had a second selection in the fifth round due to the compensatory pick system and used it to bolster their tight end room with the Purdue product. Because fellow tight end Cade Otton rarely leaves the field on offense, Durham's main work has come in two-TE sets, but that has been enough to earn him 18 starts in three seasons and offensive snap percentages of 41% in 2024 and 31% last year. He has only been targeted 25 times in the passing game in 46 games, turning them into 17 catches for 184 yards and two touchdowns. The Buccaneers did not draft a tight end until the sixth round this year, so Durham could be in line for a similar share of playing time in his fourth season.
Sixth-Round CB Josh Hayes – Entering Final Season of Rookie Contract
Hayes has been one of the Buccaneers' top special teams players over his first three seasons, though he did make three starts at cornerback in 2024. So far, he has logged 294 stops on defense and 886 on special teams. From 2023-25, Hayes recorded a team-leading 34 tackles in kick coverage, in addition to a forced fumble.
All of Hayes' defensive totals come from the 2024 campaign, when he contributed 29 tackles, three passes defensed and a fumble recovery. He did not log any defensive snaps last season but was on the field for 82% of the Bucs' special teams plays.
Sixth-Round WR Trey Palmer – No Longer with the Buccaneers
Palmer, a Nebraska product, played two seasons in Tampa but was waived at the end of the preseason last summer. He was claimed off waivers by the Saints but did not see any game action before landing on injured reserve in early October. He remains on New Orleans' roster in 2026.
Palmer had a relatively productive rookie season in 2023, hauling in 39 passes for 385 yards andthree touchdowns. Those numbers tailed off to 12 catches for 172 yards and a score in his second season, though his per-catch average increased significantly to 14.3. In three playoff games he added three receptions for 88 yards and another score.
Sixth-Round OLB Jose Ramirez – No Longer with the Buccaneers
Like Palmer, Ramirez was with the Buccaneers for two seasons before being waived at the end of his third training camp. He spent the entirety of his first season on the team's practice squad but did make the active roster coming out of his second camp. Though he remained on the 53-man roster throughout that season, he was only active for four games, seeing a total of 30 snaps on defense and 40 on special teams. Ramirez did not appear on an NFL roster during the 2025 regular season but did subsequently sign a reserve/futures contract with the Eagles this past January.
