The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, like many NFL teams, frequently espouse a hard lean toward the draft-and-development side of roster construction. And the Buccaneers, at least, have stuck to that philosophy, with a roster that has produced a Super Bowl win and four division titles over the past six seasons built primarily with draft picks.
Still, the occasional dip of a toe into the free agency pool can be transformational for a team that has an otherwise well-built depth chart with a few obvious holes. The Buccaneers' recent run of success, for instance, would likely not have been possible without two veteran additions at the game's most important position, quarterback. (More on them in a minute.)
Even though free agency generally involves players who have already proved they can play in the NFL, making it somewhat less of a dart-throwing exercise than the draft, there is still a significant chance of a miss. For instance, the Philadelphia Eagles were rightfully praised for a 2024 free agency haul that included running back Saquon Barkley and linebacker Zack Baun, two players who played huge rules in the team's run to a victory in Super Bowl LIX. But the biggest-ticket free agent the Eagles signed that offseason was actually edge rusher Bryce Huff from the Jets. Huff played in just 12 regular season games, had 2.5 sacks, was a healthy scratch in the Super Bowl and was subsequently shipped off in a trade to the 49ers.
You're simply not going to hit a home run, or even a sharp single, with every swing in free agency, and that has certainly been true for the Buccaneers over the past 33 offseasons. That said, some of Tampa Bay's signings have cleared the wall by a long way, and that's what I am here to examine today. Specifically, what I have compiled below is a list of the 10 most successful free agent signings in franchise history.
I last undertook this exercise in February of 2022 following the (first, brief) retirement of Tom Brady. It was in an introduction to an S.S. Mailbag edition and the idea was to see where Brady should be added to a previous top-10 list I had written. The reason I'm doing the exercise again, despite it being just four years later, is that I've made two changes to my list, one very obvious and one that may surprise you. So enough of the preamble; let's get to the top 10 free agent signings in Buccaneers history, presented in reverse rank and ending with number one.
(Actually, a couple of notes first about methodology: I only considering players who were officially unrestricted free agent signings from other teams. For instance, that makes defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh ineligible, as he was signed late enough in 2019 that it was technically after the UFA period ended. Other players you won't find are ones who were cut from their teams before signing with the Bucs (not technically UFAs), such as Keenan McCardell in 2002 or Leonard Fournette in 2020. We will include the full tenure of a player's time with the Buccaneers, even if that involved an initial one-year signing and then a new contract a year later (a la Baker Mayfield). And remember, Rob Gronkowski was actually acquired via trade.)
10. Kicker Chase McLaughlin, 2023
We'll get the potentially surprising choice out of the way right at the start. I could see some disagreement with this inclusion because of the perceived value of the kicker position. My counterargument: When you sign a player at any position and he establishes himself as the most successful player at that position the franchise has ever had, that's one of the aforementioned home runs. When the player actually changes the way the head coach calls a game, that's a home run. All McLaughlin has done in his three seasons as a Buccaneer has been 90.1% of his field goal attempts (91 of 101) go an astonishing 26 of 30 from 50 yards and beyond, booted 12 of the 25 longest field goals in team annals and made one of the five longest kicks in NFL history. McLaughlin is the most accurate field goal kicker in team history, by a comfortable margin, and the most accurate kicker from 50 and beyond in NFL history.
9. Running back Michael Pittman, 2002
When the Buccaneers traded for the rights to hire Head Coach Jon Gruden in 2002, they put him in charge of a fully-formed defense that was brimming with future Hall of Famers. The offense, however, needed some work. Gruden vastly overhauled that side of the depth chart, mostly with veteran additions, such as the aforementioned Keenan McCardell. There was also wide receiver Joe Jurevicius, tight ends Ken Dilger and Rickey Dudley and linemen Roman Oben and Kerry Jenkins (not all of whom were eligible for this list). Of all of them, Pittman played the longest for the Buccaneers and had the most career production in Tampa. The Buccaneers had lost Warrick Dunn to free agency and Gruden brought in Pittman, who had been a starter for two seasons in Arizona and was very good at catching passes out of the backfield. Gruden definitely made use of that talent – Pittman's 284 catches as a Buc are the ninth-most in team history – but he also got plenty out of his new back on the ground. Pittman led the Super Bowl team with 718 yards and saved his best game of '02 for last with a 124-yard performance that garnered him Super Bowl MVP consideration. Pittman followed with a 75-catch season in 2003 and a career-best 926-yard, seven-TD rushing performance in 2004. He is the franchise's sixth all-time leading rusher.
8. Center Ryan Jensen, 2018
The Buccaneers made Jensen the NFL's highest-paid center at the time of his signing in March of 2018, and that decision to invest heavily in what isn't necessarily considered a premium position paid off in a huge way. Though a heartbreaking knee injury in the team's 2022 training camp limited him to four seasons on the field in Tampa, they were four extremely good seasons. He started all 65 games from 2018-21 and in addition to being a powerful and tenacious blocker he was absolutely a tone-setter on the field, playing every snap to the echo of the whistle and energizing the entire offensive line. Jensen was part of a very strong blocking unit that helped protect Tom Brady in 2020 and power the team to a Super Bowl championship. His play improved from season to season in Tampa, peaking in 2021 when he was voted into the Pro Bowl. Jensen technically did play a fifth season for the Buccaneers, because he surprisingly returned from his injury in time for the team's playoff contest against the Dallas Cowboys, but that would prove to be his last appearance in the NFL>
7. Wide receiver Vincent Jackson, 2012
Finding a receiver who lives up to expectations in free agency can be difficult, which is something the Buccaneers know all too well (see Harper, Alvin), but Jackson proved to be one of the rare ones who exceeds expectations. The Buccaneers got the veteran receiver from San Diego, where he had cracked 1,000 yards three times in seven seasons and earned two Pro Bowl berths. Over the next three years he would add three more 1,000-yard seasons and another Pro Bowl berth. Jackson played out his entire five-year deal – again a relative rarity – and finished his Buccaneer tenure with 268 receptions for 4,326 yards and 20 touchdowns. His yardage total ranks fifth all-time among Tampa Bay pass-catchers and in 2012 he led the NFL with 19.2 yards per grab. In terms of pure statistical impact, few Buccaneer free agents have ever provided more, but Jackson was also a valued leader in the locker room with a professional approach to the game that young players like Mike Evans – who would take the torch from his veteran teammate – could emulate. He tragically passed away at the in 2021 at the age of 38.
6. Outside Linebacker Shaquil Barrett, 2019
Barrett is the absolute best sort of addition in free agency: A player who had showed some promise in a limited role for another team but was willing to bet on himself as a potential high-impact starter for a new club. The Buccaneers signed him to the proverbial "prove-it" one-year deal, and that proved to be a jackpot bet for both Barrett and his new team. The only thing keeping him from cracking the top five of this list is that his prime years for Tampa Bay were relatively short. Well, that and the presence of (spoiler alert) three quarterbacks above him. Barrett not only became the first Buccaneer ever to lead the NFL in sacks when he accomplished that feat in his first year in Tampa, he earned Pro Bowl and second-team AP All-Pro recognition and was fourth in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting. Barrett's 19.5 sacks in 2019 eclipsed Warren Sapp's team record by a full three and he also tied for the NFL lead with 37 quarterback hits. Barrett hit double digits again in 2021 with 10.0 and finished his Buccaneer tenure (five seasons and a brief cameo at the end of 2024), with 45.0 sacks, fifth most in franchise history. Best of all, he was at the peak of his powers in the 2020 run to Super Bowl XL victory, with four sacks in four games, including three in the NFC Championship Game in Green Bay. He also had a sack in the Super Bowl and was credited with a whopping eight QB pressures.
5. Quarterback Baker Mayfield, 2023
One of only two active players on this list (and the one with a real chance to move even higher at some point), Mayfield had the unenviable task of following Tom Brady when he signed with the Buccaneers in 2023 and subsequently bested holdover Kyle Trask in a battle for the starting job. That mission accomplished, Mayfield has never looked back, so far producing one of the best three-year runs by a quarterback in franchise history. The Bucs signed him after a lost 2022 that saw him traded by the Cleveland Browns, who had drafted him first overall in 2018, to the Carolina Panthers, where he started six games before being cut and signed for a brief and successful late-season cameo by the Rams. Due to that unhappy ending in Cleveland, in which he did lead the Browns to the second round of the playoffs in 2020 and his subsequent travels, he too came aboard on somewhat of a prove-it one-year deal before then landing a more lucrative multi-year contract in 2024. While the NFL cognoscenti was expecting a Buccaneer collapse after Brady's retirement, Mayfield led the team to division titles in 2023 and 2024 and individually put up massive numbers. That started with a career best 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns in 2023, which he topped in 2024 with 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns. In his first three seasons in Tampa, Mayfield has already seventh in team history in passing yards (12,237) and third in touchdown passes (95), and he is third and second in the entire NFL over that span in those two categories, respectively.
4. Quarterback Brad Johnson, 2001
Mayfield has already moved ahead of Johnson on all the Bucs' passing charts and has a superior career passer rating (97.4 to 83.2) as well as being more of a threat with his legs, and one could probably argue the order of those two players on this list. For now, though, I'm sticking with Johnson's Super Bowl championship as the tiebreaker. In both cases, finding a playoff-caliber quarterback in free agency gets you extra credit. Already seven years into his NFL career, Johnson came to the Bucs in 2001 after two strong years in Washington, including one Pro Bowl campaign. He took over for Shaun King and stabilized the Bucs' passing game in 2001 before breaking out his best season in '02. Johnson's 92.9 passer rating that year was affected most by his 22-6 TD-INT ratio, a good fit for a team that was driven by an otherworldly defense. Nicknamed "The Bull" because of his toughness, Johnson overcame a fracture in his back that cost him several games in December in the Super Bowl season, returning with a strong performance in the playoffs. When the Buccaneers' running game collapsed in 2003, Johnson threw for a then-team-record 3,811 yards and 26 touchdowns. He ranks seventh in team history in passing yards (10,940), just behind Mayfield, and his 83.2 passer rating was the best by any Buccaneer quarterback at the time of his departure.
3. Linebacker Hardy Nickerson, 1993
In the very first year of unrestricted free agency, the Green Bay Packers managed to pry Reggie White away from Philadelphia and that might still be the best free agent signing ever (the Bucs and Tom Brady would like a word, though). Hardy Nickerson was arguably the second-best pick-up of that first free agency scramble, and he made a similarly huge impact on his new franchise. Nickerson was a starter for a good portion of his six years in Pittsburgh, but he was instantly a star in Tampa. All he did in his first season was set a new team record with 214 tackles, immediately become the team's unquestioned leader and break the franchise's two-year Pro Bowl drought. Nickerson had to toil through several losing seasons, but he was there when the rest of the pieces of a dominant defense began to arrive, and he was in the thick of it when the struggling franchise finally turned its fortunes around in 1997. He started all 104 games in which he played and was rarely out of the lineup, though he did overcome a frightening heart infection in 1998 to come back strong in 1999 and help the Bucs to the NFC Championship Game. Simply one of the best and most intense players in franchise history, Nickerson ranks fourth on the team's all-time tackle list with 1,028 stops.
2. Defensive end Simeon Rice, 2001
Even after Barrett broke Sapp's record in 2019, Rice still owns three of the top five sack seasons in franchise history and four of the top 10. Rice was already a fully-formed pass-rushing star when he left Arizona for the Buccaneers, and a 2013 article on NFL.com tabbed him, at the time, as the 19th best UFA addition of all-time. Said author Jim Reineking in that story: "The Buccaneers already boasted one of the NFL's best defenses when Rice arrived in 2001 to help add a pass-rushing presence. Rice provided that pressure, registering double-digit sack totals in five consecutive seasons. In the Buccaneers' first and only Super Bowl appearance, Rice recorded two sacks as Tampa Bay dominated the Oakland Raiders, 48-21." Rice had a total of four sacks during that three-game playoff run, adding to his team-high 15.5 QB takedowns from the regular season. That was his highest single-season sack total as a Buccaneer, but he cracked double digits in all but the last of his six years with the club and was essentially the NFL's most feared pass-rusher during that span. Including two years with the Cardinals, Rice led all NFL players in sacks from 1999-2005. Monte Kiffin convinced Rice in the spring of 2001 that he would be the final piece of the puzzle in putting together one of the most dominant defenses of all time, and that's exactly what Rice proved to be.
1. Quarterback Tom Brady, 2020
Brady is unquestionably the greatest player ever to sign with the Buccaneers, but I don't have him at the top of this list based on his reputation or pre-Tampa accomplishments. No, this is all about what the addition of Brady accomplished for the Buccaneers. At the time, Tampa Bay had a lot of talent on its roster but was still falling short of the playoffs every year, let alone a shot at the ultimate prize. The arrival of Brady, who was 42 at the time of the signing and would be 43 before he threw a competitive pass in red and pewter, changed all of that, and swiftly. The Buccaneers broke a 12-year playoff drought in his first season with the team, then charged through the playoffs, winning three road games before making NFL history by winning (or even playing in) a Super Bowl in their home stadium. Brady proved he had a lot of life left in his famous right arm, throwing for 4,633 yards and a team-record 40 touchdowns in the Super Bowl season, then topping that with an NFL-leading 5,316 yards and 43 touchdown passes in 2021. He came in second to Aaron Rodgers in the NFL MVP balloting that second season, the highest finish ever for a Buccaneer. After a brief retirement early in the 2022 season, he elected to come back for a third season and led the Bucs to a second straight division title. In just three seasons, Brady put up 14,643 passing yards and 108 touchdown passes, which rank third and second in team history, respectively. Arguably more important to all those numbers was the culture that Brady established in the Bucs' locker room, an expectation of winning that has continued on years after his retirement.
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Honorable mentions: The list of players considered for inclusion in this top 10 starts with defensive end Greg Spires (2002) and cornerback Martin Mayhew (1993), both of whom were on the last list I put together before the arrivals of Mayfield and McLaughlin. Others include Jurevicius, Jenkins, punter Josh Bidwell (2004), linebacker Lonnie Marts (1994), quarterback Jeff Garcia (2007), center Jeff Christie (2000), center John Wade (2003), defensive tackle Chris Hovan (2005), tight end Jackie Harris (1994) and safety/special teams ace Kenny Gant (1995).
