Extending YaYa Diaby
February 13th, 2026
Worthy of extension.
There are more holes in the Bucs defense than a beehive. That doesn’t mean the defense is bereft of talent.
One way to try to fill all the holes is to find decent free agents. The Bucs have pending free agents that beancounters can magically make extra cap space appear — by reworking contracts and extending contracts.
This brings Joe to Bucs outside linebacker YaYa Diaby. He’s entering a contract year this fall. And he’s the closest thing the Bucs have to an edge rusher.
And that’s why Joe’s good friend, NFL humorist/columnist Mike Tanier, thinks it would be very smart of Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht to extend YaYa, play some games with the cap, and go buy an inside linebacker.
One Thing the Buccaneers Should Do
Extend Yaya Diaby’s contract. Diaby is not an elite edge rusher, but he’s the best the Bucs have, and he’s one of the few youngish players who was getting the job done down the stretch in 2025.
That’s a great point by Tanier. How many of the Bucs’ young players were making an impact in games in December? Not many. YaYa was one of the few. (Yeah, Jacob Parrish did, too.)
So yeah, the Bucs could extend YaYa (if he doesn’t want to test the free agent waters) and the cap space saved could go to an inside linebacker.