The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will open their 2026 training camp at the end of this month, and the overall team goals will be the same as always: Carve out the best 53-man roster from 91 candidates; determine the starting lineup and other key regulars; and completely absorb the offensive and defensive playbooks.

For those 91 individuals who will start camp with the Buccaneers, there are obvious shared goals for each one as well: Maximize their production and the size of their roles. Still, more specific individual pursuits will vary from player to player based on each one's situation, skill set, position and experience. An undrafted rookie may be rightfully excited to earn a spot on the practice squad to start the season, a jumping off point for what could be a full NFL career. Meanwhile, a third-year player who has played in a reserve role for two seasons might be aiming for a leap into the starting lineup. An entrenched starter like, say, two-time first-team All-Pro Tristan Wirfs may have his mind on what he can do to make those around him better.

These are what we call 'Camp Goals,' and each summer we go down the roster in numerical order to examine what we think could be forefront each player's mind as he heads into training camp. For the third year in a row we will start and end with players at the same position – Yaya Diaby (#0) and Anthony Nelson (#98) – in each case suggesting what the player's objectives for those six weeks could be. We kick things off today with the players ranging from jersey number 0 to number 9 (there are two number 8s, actually), a group that includes last year's breakout rookie, a new-look backfield duo and this year's prized first-round draft pick.

#0 OLB Yaya Diaby: Diaby has established himself as an upper-echelon pass-rusher in the NFL, last year tying for eighth in the league with 68 quarterback pressures, according to Next Gen Stats. If you had told Buccaneer leaders at the time they drafted Diaby in the third round in 2023 that he would have amassed 19.0 sacks over his first three seasons, they would have been thrilled. Still, there is a sense that Diaby is capable of even greater sack production, that a higher percentage of his pressures should end with the quarterback on the ground. Diaby won't be allowed to hit the quarterbacks in training camp and he probably won't play a significant number of snaps in the three preseason games, but he can satisfy his own objective of taking his game to another level by consistently getting in position for pseudo-sacks in practice. With what appears to be an improved cast of edge rushers around him, Diaby will look to take advantage of more overall team pressure being applied on the opposing passers.

#1 RB Kenneth Gainwell: After spending his first four seasons in Philadelphia, Gainwell moved across the state in 2025 to Pittsburgh and had no trouble fitting into the offensive game plan quickly. He set career highs in carries (114), rushing yards (537), receptions (73), receiving yards (486) and total touchdowns (8). He surpassed 1,000 yards from scrimmage in a season for the first time and was voted the Steelers' MVP by his teammates. Gainwell doesn't have to duplicate that honor in his first season with the Buccaneers to be a success in Tampa, but he will be looking to find the same size of a role in the offense as soon as possible. That involves developing a rapport with Baker Mayfield in the passing game, proving he is dependable in pass protection and displaying the sort of one-cut burst that will be valuable in a run scheme that is likely to involve more wide-zone concepts under new Offensive Coordinator Zac Robinson.

#2 WR Emeka Egbuka: Egbuka, the 19th overall pick in the 2025 draft, had a wildly successful rookie campaign, particularly in the early going when he won Offensive Rookie of the Month honors in September and became the first player ever to surpass 25 catches, 400 receiving yards and five touchdowns in his first five career games. Unfortunately, a rash of injuries to the Buccaneers' other top receivers forced him into an enormous role and various different positions in the offense. Egbuka handled those responsibilities very well but did see his numbers slip later in the season. All of that came on the heels of Ohio State's national championship run and months of draft preparation. This year, Egbuka has had more time to work on his craft and, importantly, to find some rest. Now he comes into his second camp with the advantage of being able to focus on one position in Robinson's offense – he is expected to be the primary "Z"receiver – and that will surely be his goal, to master that job

#3 OLB Rueben Bain Jr.: The Buccaneers were shocked and ecstatic when Bain, considered a potential top-five pick in this year's draft, fell to them at number 15, allowing them to address their single biggest team need with a caliber of player they never truly expected to land at that spot. Since, they have discovered that Bain is a singularly driven player who brings an intensity and toughness to the defense that the Bucs were eager to sow across the depth chart. As a rookie, Bain has a lot to learn, but he also has an opportunity to be a leader of sorts when it comes to setting the tone on the practice field in training camp. Look for Bain to set his camp goal as a desire to maximize every single practice and every single rep that he gets.

#4 K Chase McLaughlin: McLaughlin does have a little company at the kicker spot on the Bucs' roster heading into this year's camp, as the team signed former Clemson kicker B.T. Potter a month ago. That said, given that McLaughlin has essentially had the best three-season stretch by a kicker in franchise history, making 90.1% of his field goal attempts and blasting a remarkable 26 50+-yarders in 30 attempts, he should be very difficult to unseat. For a veteran kicker who has proved that reliable kick-to-kick, the only goal going into any training camp is to just keep doing what he has been doing, day after day.

#5 QB Jake Browning: After going with Teddy Bridgewater last year, the Buccaneers brought in a new quarterback in Browning this year presumably to serve as Mayfield's primary backup. He could get some competition, though, from holdover Connor Bazelak and an undrafted rookie who opened some eyes in offseason practices in Kansas's Jalon Daniels. Browning clearly has the advantage of NFL experience over those two, having played in 17 regular-season games with 10 starts over three seasons in Cincinnati. In his first Bucs' camp, Browning will be looking to show that he can be that steady presence who would have a shot at keeping the offense humming if Mayfield was unavailable for any stretch of the season. Mayfield has started every game – 54 of them including the postseason – since joining the Buccaneers in 2023 – and is a good bet to do so again in 2026, but injuries are always a possibility in the NFL. The Bucs have playoff aspirations this season and they need to go into it with confidence in all of the quarterback on their 53-man roster.

#6 QB Baker Mayfield: Mayfield may or may not have a new contract in place by later this month, but he has made it clear that when training camp starts he is going to be all business on the playing field. His style of play, which has made him wildly popular in Tampa over the past three years, has made it clear he will do whatever it takes to help his team win. Across those three seasons, Mayfield has ranked second in the NFL in touchdown passes and third in passing yards, but his production waned a bit down the stretch last year, most likely due to injuries not only to himself but large swaths of the team's offensive line and receiving corps. Mayfield doesn't have anything left to prove to himself or the Buccaneers, but he would surely like to regain the form that was leading to chants of "MVP" during the first half of last season. He will also be looking to determine what works best for him and the rest of the offense in the new playbook being installed by Robinson.

#7 RB Bucky Irving: Irving will also be eyeing a return to form after injuries caused him to miss seven games in 2025 and essentially halved his production from his marvelous rookie campaign. Proving to himself that he is fully recovered from last year's foot and shoulder injuries will be a priority in training camp, as will be finding his footing in Robinson's offense. The Buccaneers always thought Irving would be a weapon on outside runs when they drafted him in the fourth round in 2024, but they were quickly impressed by what he was capable of between the tackles. Robinson's offense may unlock even more of Irving's potential with more wide-zone concepts. Irving has a new running mate in Gainwell and Sean Tucker remains on the roster as well, but the third-year back will be looking to show that he is still the top option in the Bucs' backfield, as he made clear in 2024.

#8(d) ILB SirVocea Dennis: Dennis got his first opportunity to be a Week One starter last season in his third year after being drafted in the fifth round in 2023. This summer, however, he will have serious competition to start next to newcomer Alex Anzalone from second-round draft pick Josiah Trotter, and potentially Christian Rozeboom as well. The Bucs were excited about Dennis's potential last summer after he had shown promise in a brief cameo in 2024 before suffering a shoulder injury, particularly in pass coverage. That's the area that Dennis will need to show he can excel in during camp and the preseason as the Buccaneers were unhappy with their overall middle-of-the-field coverage last year. As Dennis heads into the final year of his rookie contract, he will be looking to show his value in as many ways as possible, both in the defense and on special teams.

#8(o) WR Dean Patterson: Patterson, who played his prep ball at nearby Steinbrenner High School, gets a chance to start his NFL career with the hometown team after signing as an undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech. He only played one season for the Yellow Jackets after four years at Florida International, and he had limited output, with just eight catches for 150 yards. He did have 98 catches for FIU and showed some explosiveness, which is what he will be looking to display in his first NFL camp. Even after the departure of Mike Evans, the Bucs have a deep and talented receiver room, so it would be an uphill climb for any young receiver to crack the depth chart for the regular season. Still, that will surely be his goal, and if he falls short of that, a spot on the practice squad would be an excellent way to get his foot in the NFL's door and hopefully start a long career.

#9 P Riley Dixon: Dixon is the only punter on the current 91-man roster, and the team did pick up the option year on the contract he signed in 2025, so unless something changes he is not facing competition for his job this summer. What is new is his coach, as the Bucs brought in one of the NFL's top special teams gurus in long-time coordinator Danny Smith in the offseason. Dixon's gross punting average in his first year in Tampa was down by a couple yards from his previous season in Denver, as was his gross average, and he suffered a pair of blocked kicks. Overall, though, he has been a very consistent and strong punter across his decade-long NFL tenure, with career averages of 45.8 gross and 40.9 net. Dixon will be looking to raise his numbers across the board under Smith's tutelage.