YaYa Diaby Does Other Things Well
June 19th, 2026
Often around the football.
Bucs outside linebacker YaYa Diaby may not have as many sacks as Joe would like to see. That doesn’t mean YaYa isn’t making plays.
True, he was drafted to get sacks do other things. And YaYa seems to do other things rather well. For example, YaYa often seems to be around the football.
Per the Bucs’ media relations, seven players since 2008 have had 12 or more tackles for loss in each of their first three seasons. They are Maxx Crosby, Aaron Donald, Lavonte David, Khalil Mack, Micah Parsons and J.J. Watt.
Oh, and YaYa.
He’s had 12, 13 and 13 tackles for loss in each season since the Bucs drafted him in 2023.
Now, if someone on the Bucs coaching staff had a revelation about the importance of an edge rusher burying quarterbacks, with the way YaYa excels at other things, the Bucs may have their hands on a special player.
June 19th, 2026 at 9:50 am
YaYa is a good player..very solid…plays hard and he’s consistent…he just needs to work on finishing the play regarding sacks…i think a counter move would help, like a spin move…imo, he hand fights with OTs for a little too long….
would love to re-sign him, but we shouldnt make him the top paid DE lol…
GO BUCS!!!!
June 19th, 2026 at 9:56 am
TFL is a big deal, it’s as good as a sack is but if the offense comes back and is able to convert that into a first down then it’s misleading and a wasted stat and play. All that work to put the offense in a hole just to surrender the first down the next play or 2 plays is just maddening. That has happened way too much over the past 3 years.
June 19th, 2026 at 10:04 am
61
I agree…
far too often Ive seen YaYa get a TFL on 2nd down only to be a step too late on 3rd down which results in a 1st down lol….
maddening indeed lol
GO BUCS!!!!!
June 19th, 2026 at 10:16 am
NFL main website had an article where they picked the best team out of all nfl players and stay under the cap. Yaya was the only bucs player picked on that team.
June 19th, 2026 at 10:16 am
Someone on a Bucs podcast compared YaYa last year to Tom Hanks in Castaway. It sounded about right. I’m not sure if Bain is going to be his Wilson this season or he got rescued and has more help this year. Can’t wait for TC to get a peak at the answer.
June 19th, 2026 at 10:22 am
Got a hunch 2 things will happen this year:
1 – YaYa will have a VERY good year. Not sure if it’ll include him getting double-digit sacks in Bowles’ defense, but it’ll still be a VERY good year.
2 – Odds are great that he won’t be a Buc next season. He’s a beast who can play a high percentage of the def snaps and get much better results elsewhere than he’ll be able to get in this defense.
June 19th, 2026 at 10:40 am
Jack of all trades…Master of NONE!
June 19th, 2026 at 10:54 am
Best thing Ya ya does is dance up and down when he’s a second late for a sack
June 19th, 2026 at 10:57 am
One more season of YaYa feeling almost like he’s all alone out there at times and he may not want to be a Buc anymore. He does right now tho. He’s one of the few who max tries and cares on that defense from last season. He’s stepping up as a Leader while we are looking for new one(s) on defense and wanting to be one. It may not be a bad idea to extend him now. Not saying break the bank or make him highest paid or anything remotely like that, but just a nice suitable extension sooner rather than later.
I like what YaYa brings!
June 19th, 2026 at 11:05 am
DR, I think you may be accurate regarding his departure. Even if he has an average year by the standards he’s set, he’s going to command big edge bucks. And if he can manage double digits this year, which I think is a good possibility if everyone stays healthy, he’s going to be very expensive. The likelihood of us signing Vita and him both is slim.
June 19th, 2026 at 11:20 am
YaYa
June 19th, 2026 at 11:28 am
Steven007 … ‘The likelihood of us signing Vita and him both is slim.’
My gut feel as of now is that expensive old guys will be expendable if we sign Baker to a ‘north of $50 mil contract’. Unfortunately that would probably include both Vea & Godwin. Bucs have to keep getting younger anyways, so why not use our 1st & 2nd Rnd draft picks for 2027 on a NT & WR?
June 19th, 2026 at 11:39 am
Yaya is superior to the Phillips guy who got signed for 4 years at $120 million
June 19th, 2026 at 12:45 pm
He is so close he just needs help on the other side an finally has it with Bain now Yaya should be closer to a 10 Sack guy
June 19th, 2026 at 12:56 pm
Has nothing to do with the article, but could Nick Chubb be signed on a make good contract for RB…. he should not be that expensive!!!
As for the article, I always liked YaYa!!!
June 19th, 2026 at 1:03 pm
TFLs are essentially sacks but the stat includes run plays. It’s absolutely a good sign that he’s up there.
June 19th, 2026 at 1:09 pm
Chubb isn’t needed gainwell is better. Chubb is washed rather see tuck gets what’s left after Bucky and Kenny g get theirs
June 19th, 2026 at 1:19 pm
DR. I can see that happening. I love CG and VV but you can’t pay your QB 50+ M/Y and not turn the roster., Miami’s Ahmad Moten Sr. are two DT the Bucs have got to have their eye on. Every year the draft is stacked with WRs. I trust Licht to find a good CG replacement.
Oregon’s A’Mauri Washington is really special. Bucs fans should familiarize themselves to him.
June 19th, 2026 at 1:32 pm
“Bucs have to keep getting younger anyways”
that includes the QB position…
a younger QB with vets around him sounds/performs better than an old QB with rookies around him
GO BUCS!!!!
June 19th, 2026 at 1:34 pm
If the choice is to sign YaYa long-term or extend Vea ( à la the choice Gruden had of keeping Simeon Rice or Warrick Dunn )…I think I’d choose YaYa. Younger and less injury prone ( so far at least ).
June 19th, 2026 at 2:02 pm
How about letting the year play out before kissing YaYa goodbye? If things go south, Baker might not be resigned, Bowles might be standing in line to collect an unemployment check, and YaYa will get his money.
If we sign Baker to a 50 million—16.6% of the cap contract prior to this season, YaYa will surely be gone and the Bucs Super Bowl chances will be next to nil. As stated yesterday, only one team has won the Lombardi with a cap eating QB above 15% and that’s KC and Mahomes. And they are now suffering the consequences. 10-12% of the cap is doable, with the average SB winning QB sitting at 10% or less.
Hurts was 5.31% when the Eagles won the SB.
Last year Darnold was 4.8% of the cap. Look them all up!
Want to keep YaYa? Keep your QB at 10-12%, preferably under. Pay your impact players and don’t overpay your QB.
Paying your QB 50 mil is akin to a Super Bowl death sentence.
June 19th, 2026 at 2:41 pm
David being on that list speaks to his greatness.
June 19th, 2026 at 3:01 pm
Pay your impact players and don’t overpay your QB.
BINGO!!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
June 19th, 2026 at 3:11 pm
Yaya needs to just not be in freaking coverage this proves it