The Buccaneers made some good moves, but they still have some big needs.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t![\"Oct](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/USATSI_24543493-scaled.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOct 20, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone (34) walks on the field after his teams win against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMatt Krohn-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
The first wave of NFL free agency has passed us by and it was an eventful period for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.<\/p>\n
We can sit here and briefly gloss over the details before expanding on them below, but I say let\u2019s cut through the noise and jump right into handing out grades for the Bucs\u2019 moves, re-signings, and departures that occurred last week.<\/p>\n
What grades did the Buccaneers get for the first wave of free agency?<\/p>\n
Departures<\/p>\n
WR Mike Evans (San Francisco 49ers)<\/p>\n
CB Jamel Dean (Pittsburgh Steelers)<\/p>\n
DL Logan Hall (Houston Texans)<\/p>\n
RB Rachaad White (Washington Commanders)<\/p>\n
DB Christian Izien (Detroit Lions)<\/p>\n
QB Teddy Bridgewater (Lions)<\/p>\n
It\u2019s tough to grade departures on an individual basis, but we can certainly grade them as a whole.<\/p>\n
Starting with Evans \u2013 the Buccaneers had to watch a legend walk away and it definitely wasn\u2019t easy and it definitely stung. Based on Evans\u2019 comments during his introductory presser with the 49ers and his contract details, it was clear there wasn\u2019t much Tampa Bay could do to get him to stay. He wanted to move on.<\/p>\n
How much are the Bucs to blame for that is the question. Last year\u2019s debacle definitely didn\u2019t help and Evans has been in the NFL for over 10 years, while seeing both the lowest of lows and highest of highs. <\/p>\n
In other words: He could sense the Buccaneers weren\u2019t the contenders he needs right now at this point in his career. He\u2019s right too, with Tampa Bay running it back, it shouldn\u2019t be considered as such. And if they fired Todd Bowles? There\u2019s no guarantee he would\u2019ve seen things any differently. Overall, I don\u2019t think Evans\u2019 departure is much of the Bucs\u2019 doing, at all, just a tiny fraction.<\/p>\n
As for the others \u2013\u00a0Jamel Dean and Rachaad White were all but gone. There were no surprises there, even after Dean\u2019s career year. Logan Hall was assumedly gone, as well, although there was some thought he could stay.<\/p>\n
Christian Izien wanted a bigger role and Teddy Bridgewater is clearly comfortable in Detroit, where\u2019s he formed a strong bond with Dan Campbell and Co. <\/p>\n
In all, I don\u2019t think the departures are too much on the Buccaneers and outside Evans, they were all pretty much expected. Still, they lost some key guys and there are no guarantees their production is upgraded, or even replaced, in 2026.<\/p>\n
Overall Grade: B\u2013<\/p>\n
Re-signings <\/p>\n
TE Cade Otton (Three years, $30 million)<\/p>\n
TE Ko Kieft (One-year, TBD)<\/p>\n
RB Sean Tucker (Tendered at $3.52 million)<\/p>\n
Otton\u2019s deal is tied for 14th-most out of all tight ends on a per-year average and it\u2019s 10th in total guaranteed money. His two-year cash flow ranks 10th, as well.<\/p>\n
So, it\u2019s a good deal for both Otton and the team. He\u2019s a complete tight end who, while not dynamic in the passing game, is reliable. He\u2019s a team-first guy that won\u2019t fire anyone up in the locker room \u2013 he lets his actions do the talking. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s a solid deal for a solid player. That\u2019s as good as you can get in free agency.<\/p>\n
As for Kieft, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s much of a coincidence the Buccaneers special teams was as bad as it was after he went down in Week 2. Sure, it probably wouldn\u2019t have been a good unit even with Kieft on the field, but he certainly would\u2019ve helped keep it from hitting rock bottom like it did.<\/p>\n
A one-year, likely vet minimum deal, is great for an underrated player like Kieft.<\/p>\n
Lastly, the Tucker signing is great for depth, but it\u2019s a bit pricey at $3.52 million. Tucker is currently the 32nd-highest paid running back on an AAV average and he\u2019s 27th in total cash for 2026. The latter number is more than superstar running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who\u2019s slated to make $3,183,429 in cash this year.<\/p>\n
That definitely dings the grade, quite a bit.<\/p>\n
Overall Grade: B<\/p>\n
Outside additions<\/p>\n
LB Alex Anzalone (Two years, $17 million)<\/p>\n
RB Kenneth Gainwell (Two years, $14 million)<\/p>\n
DL A\u2019Shawn Robinson (One-year, $10 million)<\/p>\n
EDGE Al-Quadin Muhammad (One-year, $6 million)<\/p>\n
QB Jake Browning (One-year, TBD)<\/p>\n
The Buccaneers added Al-Quadin Muhammad, who is coming off a career year with 11.0 sacks. He mentioned past schemes as a reason for the low sack totals he\u2019s amassed since 2017, so it\u2019ll be intriguing to see how he fares in a Bowles\u2019 aggressive defense. <\/p>\n
A\u2019Shawn Robinson will bring some much-needed fire and attitude to the defense and he\u2019s capable in both run defense and his pass rush abilities. He also adds a lot of size at 6-foot-3, 320 pounds, which will come in handy next to Vita Vea. Robinson and Muhammad won\u2019t completely solve the Bucs\u2019 pass rush issues, however, they should help improve the situation to a certain extent. <\/p>\n
Robinson\u2019s contract is pretty pricey, however, which takes his grade down just a notch. Whereas Muhammad\u2019s deal reeks of a Shaq Barrett-type situation and we all know how that played out.<\/p>\n
But, the Buccaneers didn\u2019t add a true No. 1 pass rusher, which hurts this overall grade. Yes, the Baltimore Ravens totally threw a wrench in the Bucs\u2019 Trey Hendrickson plans after backing out of the Maxx Crosby trade. At the same time, though, it\u2019s not like Hendrickson was the lone guy on the market. <\/p>\n
We don\u2019t know just how hard they fought for the other guys, but it shouldn\u2019t be too hard to convince a player to come play for Bowles. Overall, it should be considered a failure in terms of pure results. <\/p>\n
The Anzalone and Gainwell moves will both add elements to the Buccaneers offense and defense that were sorely needed. Anzalone is the do-it-all linebacker Bowles\u2019 defense requires in order to performa at a high level and yes, he turns 32 in September, but the tape shows he still has plenty left in the tank.<\/p>\n
Gainwell gives the Bucs another explosive ball carrier in the backfield, which they didn\u2019t have with Rachaad White. While Gainwell caught 73 passes last year, don\u2019t sleep on his rushing ability, where he averaged 4.7 yards per carry on 114 attempts. <\/p>\n
And last but not least, Jake Browning is a smart guy, but last year\u2019s section of his resume leaves a lot to be desired and plenty to be concerned about. Browning owned it to trying to play too much hero ball last year and the self-awareness is respectable. However, it\u2019s tough to tell if he\u2019s an upgrade over Bridgewater and we won\u2019t know until we know.<\/p>\n
The Buccaneers\u2019 additions are solid, overall, but the inability to add a true No. 1 threat on the edge stings.<\/p>\n
Overall Grade: C+<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the Buccaneers\u2019 overall grade for the first wave of free agency?<\/p>\n
Overall Grade: B-<\/p>\n
Again, I don\u2019t blame the Buccaneers much at all for Evans\u2019 departure, but that, along with the lack of adding a true EDGE threat are easily the two biggest \u201cdings\u201d of the offseason, so far.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s also another big question surrounding these moves: Do any of these guys actually push the Bucs up the ladder, or are they more keeping them from falling down? Yes, a couple of these guys are considered upgrades, but they\u2019re not to the point where it\u2019s signing an elite talent you just know will come in and ball out from Day 1. <\/p>\n
Value signings are essential to staying competitive, but the Buccaneers need a splash. As a collective, they might get it, but none of these guys are going to take a game over on their own or anything like that.<\/p>\n
And the splash they did have in guys like Evans, and even Dean, is gone. Overall, I\u2019d consider the first wave of free agency a success for the Buccaneers, but they still have a lot to figure out. Especially at cornerback, EDGE (still), linebacker, and the interior offensive line.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/USATSI_20112534-1-200x200.jpg\")
\t\t<\/p>\n
Tampa Bay Buccaneers News<\/p>\n
The Bucs still have plenty of work to do this offseason.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Buccaneers made some good moves, but they still have some big needs. Oct 20, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":856368,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2077],"tags":[211,7,6,704,250,2597,2596],"class_list":{"0":"post-856367","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa-bay-buccaneers","8":"tag-buccaneers","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-tampa-bay","12":"tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","13":"tag-tampabay","14":"tag-tampabaybuccaneers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116356017256445958","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=856367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856367\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/856368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=856367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=856367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=856367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}