Ten Crossroads Buccaneers
June 14th, 2026
Click through to visit BillCurrieFord.com and see their extraordinary June discounts. Family-owned in Tampa since 1960! Bill Currie Ford general manager Sean Sullivan is ready to help you PERSONALLY and give you the famous Ira Kaufman discount. Don’t Worry, Drive Currie!
BY IRA KAUFMAN
Suggesting a lot of jobs are on the line for the 2026 Buccaneers is akin to saying the New York Knicks were overdue for an NBA championship.
Understatements to be sure.
Every Tampa Bay fan realizes Todd Bowles will be coaching for his job this fall. Last year’s post-bye collapse shook up the Glazers, but they are giving Bowles a second chance to right a listing pirate ship. Another losing season and it will be man overboard.
Bowles has plenty of nervous company with him heading into this most consequential of Buc seasons.
When the 2027 free-agent market unfolds next March, there could be some juicy Buccaneers among the top names.
Much depends on whether the Bucs prove themselves to be an ascending team. They were on a positive track for two years before allowing an inferior club — the Panthers — to steal a division title that appeared locked up once again at One Buc Place.
Here are 10 players the Bucs must make decisions on: Baker Mayfield, Vita Vea, Chris Godwin, YaYa Diaby, Cody Mauch, Anthony Nelson, Chase McLaughlin, A’Shawn Robinson, Al-Quadin Muhammad and Sean Tucker.
Not all 10 are potential unrestricted free agents. Godwin has a contract for 2027, but none of it is guaranteed.
Godwin is 30 and if he can stay healthy enough to register his fifth 1,000-yard season, he’ll likely be back. But should Godwin struggle to make an impact, Jason Licht is likely to take the significant dead cap hit and wave goodbye to the second-best wide receiver in franchise history.
Vita Vea
Some decisions already have been made.
For instance, Mayfield isn’t going anywhere. If necessary, the Bucs will slap a franchise tag on Mayfield to keep him under center for at least one more year should contract talks go awry.
At 27, Diaby should be entering his peak years. His solid production figures to improve if rookie Rueben Bain Jr. lives up to the hype.
Mauch, also 27, proved his worth to the organization in 2025 when his absence for all but two games at right guard was felt across the offensive landscape. Mauch’s physicality is a tone-setter up front and Licht isn’t about to let one of his favorite players escape town.
Vea is an interesting case.
At 31, his best years may be behind him. That said, he remains a dynamic force who demands double teams and worries opposing offensive coordinators. More than any potential free agent on Tampa Bay, his future will be shaped by the 2026 standings. Another losing season would likely trigger Vea’s departure after nine years.
Nelson has been a valuable backup on the edge, but he turns 30 in March and the Bucs will want to get younger at the position … especially if things go south.
McLaughlin remains one of the NFL’s premier long-range kickers and Licht surely can’t relish the idea of looking for a replacement.
Robinson and Muhammad, both on the wrong side of 30, arrive on one-year deals. Like Vea, their futures will be shaped by the scoreboards that flash in the fall.
Tucker, only 24, craves more opportunities to make plays. In one of the great lost stats of 2025, Tucker led the Bucs in touchdowns (8), despite playing only 16 percent of the offensive snaps. Why not keep him around as insurance behind Bucky Irving and Kenneth Gainwell?
Jobs are theoretically on the line every year in the NFL, but the sense of urgency for the 2026 Buccaneers should be palpable. From the head coach on down, job security hinges on 17 outcomes.
For players like Vea and Godwin, it’s a final chance to stick with a franchise standing at the crossroads.
June 14th, 2026 at 2:58 pm
At this point you can’t guarantee that the Glazers will cut bait on Bowles or Baker if we have another losing season in 2026.
Sticking with Bowles after 2024 and 2025 says a lot. The Glazers are content to lose with him.
I’m worried we have three more years of the same thing on repeat.
June 14th, 2026 at 3:16 pm
Neither Godwin or Vea is going anywhere. The only position where they release talent is CB i.e., Dean and Davis
June 14th, 2026 at 3:23 pm
We have a sub- .500 coach, but the players and the owners are comfortable with him.
We have a .500 GM, who the owners and the fans have been optimistically convinced that he has drafted and procured well. Take away the Arians & the Brady signings, and Licht’s record is way below even average.
Unfortunately, Bowels’ laid back “we’ve got to do better” coaching and Licht’s mediocre drafting and whiffs on recent major free agent signings cannot overcome these over 30 y.o. center pieces, I see Father Time and injuries coming in to play this year, and another 7 to 9 win season. Then Bowels will be gone, and Licht’s seat will never have been hotter.
June 14th, 2026 at 5:28 pm
Every player is expendable except Wirfs so to say someone isn’t going anywhere, I disagree. If this team wins 5 games, which I think is the max, then its time for a fresh approach. Shuffle the roster get a new young coach with a vision and build something new. No retreads.
The best plan the Bucs have this season is to do what they did last year without a HoF WR and a few new position coaches. Bowles is still making the final decisions so the Bucs will play it safe and almost win lots of games.
Non Bucs fans aren’t going out their way to see a Bucs game. Theres no energy to this team, no juice. Just more of the same blah….
June 14th, 2026 at 6:37 pm
They ALL better be moved at the deadline, if they are sitting there at 3-5. It’s called recognizing and accepting the REALITY. And, an ‘all-time’ LOADED Draft-Class.
June 14th, 2026 at 6:57 pm
Everyone’s healthy backs against the wall One of the best Olines in the game,a revamped younger D..I know what im thinking! Go Bucs!
June 14th, 2026 at 7:21 pm
Joe … ‘Some decisions already have been made. For instance, Mayfield isn’t going anywhere.’
LynchMob50 … ‘At this point you can’t guarantee that the Glazers will cut bait on Bowles or Baker if we have another losing season in 2026.’
Sounds like you’re agreeing with LynchMob Joe, at least on Baker. I’m tending to think though that the two of them are a ‘package deal’; if one goes, the other goes too. And in the event of ANOTHER losing season, they’ll BOTH go.
All bets are off IF the Bucs have a losing year. The Glazers gave Todd 2026 for whatever reason (personally I think it’s because they couldn’t find a HC that they really liked to replace him, but the ‘Why’ really doesn’t matter now; Todd’s our 2026 HC). But IF we end up with another losing season, I fully expect to see a new HC AND almost surely a new QB (Baker will have shown himself to be a middle-of-the-pack QB and that’s not what the Glazers want). And no, I don’t expect us to re-sign Baker BEFORE the 2026 season starts. He’s under contract, and let’s see what he’s got before we commit ridiculous sums of money.
June 14th, 2026 at 7:28 pm
None of it matters until they replace the head coach. He’s far from the worst coach we’ve had but Bowles’ hit his ceiling and it ain’t good enough. He’s got to go over there Sage.
June 14th, 2026 at 8:04 pm
Ever the optimist. A new team for a new season. No analysis here. No predictions.
Go Bucs!
June 14th, 2026 at 9:11 pm
I want Vita Vea to retire a Buccaneer. Vea is so valuable to this defense. His loss would be a massive hole in the defense. Vea could be in the Hall Fame conversation one day. Stats aren’t on his side. But the tape doesn’t lie. Vea is one of the best in the NFL. Plus big dominant run-stuffers usually are valuable even into there 30s, remember Ted Washington. Right now how many teams would be chomping at the bit to have a chance to have Vita Vea on there team. Don’t be silly guys about Vea’s value to this team.
June 14th, 2026 at 10:13 pm
LynchMob50–
‘At this point you can’t guarantee that the Glazers will cut bait on Bowles or Baker if we have another losing season in 2026’–
We winning 11, Todd MAY take that as a success to retire on
June 14th, 2026 at 11:00 pm
DR is right about that one. Head Coaches and Quarterbacks don’t keep their jobs for long in this league when their team looked like ours did last year. Excuses are for losers. Bowles and Baker have got this. We’re gonna be a fun team to watch this season. A good, solid, contending team. Not a doubt in my mind.
June 14th, 2026 at 11:03 pm
With the right coaching, Vita could and should be a hall of famer. Instead he plays for Mr Regression. Shame.