The Buccaneers are a contender. They went 10-7 this year and won the NFC South, securing a home playoff game. And there’s no reason they won’t be in a position to compete again.

Sure, they lost offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who will join the Jacksonville Jaguars as their head coach. But, with Baker Mayfield at the helm, they can win in this league on any given Sunday.

Today, we’re going to take a moment to look at the Bucs’ weapon group as we head into NFL free agency. The legal tampering period, effectively starting free agency, opens on March 10th, so we’re closer than it seems. 

For this article, we’ll take a look at the contracts for Buccaneers players as well as the free agent class to see who is safe, who could be replaced, and who could be released. That way you can prepare ahead and properly value these guys for your dynasty fantasy football leagues!

*The salary cap numbers referenced in this article come courtesy of our friends over at Spotrac.com*

 

 

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Depth Chart 2025 (Fantasy Football Relevant)

QB

Baker Mayfield

Kyle Trask

  

RB

Bucky Irving

Rachaad White

Sean Tucker

Chase Edmonds

WR

Mike Evans

Trey Palmer

  

WR

Chris Godwin

Sterling Shepard

Kameron Johnson

 

WR

Jalen McMillan

Rakim Jarrett

Ryan Miller

 

TE

Cade Otton

Payne Durham

Ko Kieft

Devin Culp

  • White = unrestricted free agent
  • Green = role is safe
  • Yellow = role in flux
  • Orange = likely a depth piece
  • Red = roster spot not guaranteed

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Free Agency 2025

  • PROJECTED 2025 SALARIES: ~$258M
  • ESTIMATED 2025 CAP SPACE: ~$24M

 

 

 

Buccaneers QB Depth Chart

Baker MayfieldBaker Mayfield is locked up through 2026. He also hit essentially all of his contract incentives by finishing top 10 in virtually every major category - including throwing for the third most yards and tying with Lamar Jackson for the second most touchdown passes. The Buccaneers have to be pleased with their decision to both acquire and keep Baker. 

Kyle TraskTrask was a second-round pick for Tampa Bay out of Florida in 2021. And, though it’s fairly high draft capital, the second round does not have a decorated history of hits at the QB position, based on our research. There was some hope that he would be the heir to Tom Brady, but Baker Mayfield dashed those hopes fairly quickly. The question now is whether they pay him to continue to serve as backup or whether he takes his chances competing elsewhere. 

BUCCANEERS QB FREE AGENCY TAKE: You are all set with the starting quarterback so the decision boils down to what to do with the backup QB spot. Mayfield is still only 29 so it doesn’t make sense to pay a rebound project quarterback to “develop” behind him - a guy like Drew Lock is pretty much the same age and even Trey Lance and Zach Wilson are 24-25. 

The “safe” plays would either be finding a way to retain Kyle Trask or signing a trusted veteran. A riskier, cost-savvy move might be to sign Michael Pratt (who was on the practice squad all year) and have him compete with a rookie. That could be a disaster if something happens to the starter, however. 

 

 

 

Buccaneers RB Depth Chart

Bucky IrvingThe season started with Rachaad White playing ~70% of the snaps and Irving playing ~30%. By the end of the season that had flipped with Irving seeing 72% and 69% of snaps the last two games and White seeing 27% and 38%. With Irving proving his worth and operating on a cheap rookie deal, his value in your dynasty leagues seems fairly safe for now. 

Rachaad WhiteWhite is also on a rookie deal through this season. The reason we have him in yellow here is that there are questions as to whether he can retain a fantasy relevant role. As the season progressed his usage dwindled to the point where he only got 1 carry in the playoff game against the Commanders. He’s useful in the pass game but that was also one of Bucky’s strongest aspects coming out of college.

Sean TuckerTucker is on a cheap rookie deal and looked good when called upon so there’s really no reason for his roster spot to be in any sort of jeopardy. He’ll likely serve as depth so needs injury help for fantasy relevance. 

Chase EdmondsEdmonds got hurt at the worst possible time so never got a chance to earn anything. He’s almost certainly gone in free agency and might not get picked up. 

BUCCANEERS RB FREE AGENCY TAKE: Bucky Irving has the making of an every-down back, if they wanted to go that route. Rachaad White is your help on pass downs, Sean Tucker can be the big-bodied plodder if need be. Any additions to this RB room would likely be related to special teams, if they need help there with Bucky Irving obviously graduating from those duties.

 

 

 

Buccaneers WR Depth Chart

Mike EvansThey extended Mike Evans, and he made his milestones in dramatic fashion this year. At some point they will need to start to think about the future of the split end spot but, if they were to bring someone on in 2025, that should be via taking stabs in the draft on a prospect to develop rather than free agency. 

Chris GodwinThis one is going to have some of the biggest implications for the Buccaneers and the fantasy football landscape. As we wrote about last off-season, this scheme is perfect for Chris Godwin. And he thrived in it before suffering a serious injury. Now they have a decision to make. Do they bring him back on what would likely be a large contract? Or do they lean into the rookie Jalen McMillan?

Jalen McMillanAssuming his recovery goes smoothly, Chris Godwin will likely land on his feet somewhere. And you don’t pay a guy like that not to use him. So, his value is fairly safe. The volatility from that decision falls on McMillan. If they keep Godwin, that puts McMillan on the backburner for at least another year. If they don’t, McMillan could thrive. 

Obviously, Bucs fans would like to have all three of them but it’s incredibly rare for a team to have three high end WRs for fantasy. Of the WRs that finished third on their team in targets in 2024, Rashod Bateman was the highest scoring at WR40 in PPR. 

Trey PalmerTrey Palmer ended up in “no man’s land” here after being leapfrogged by Jalen McMillan. The big indictment on him is that he couldn’t beat out veteran Sterling Shepard for work once Chris Godwin got hurt. He’s on a cheap rookie deal where they only save about $1 million by releasing him so they likely just hang onto him as depth. Even if Shepard retires and Godwin leaves in free agency though, he’s likely third fiddle at best. 

 

 

 

Sterling ShepardShepard was reportedly set to retire but decided to run it back in 2024 with some convincing from college teammate Baker Mayfield. Maybe he can convince Shepard to return again but he’s not a full-time player at this stage. 

Rakim JarrettJarrett’s ability to contribute on special teams is one of the main arguments for keeping him around. He can be released with only ~$8K in dead cap with a million dollars in savings but he’s an affordable guy that contributes in multiple ways. 

Ryan MillerDespite his history of playing tight end in college, Miller has not played a single in-line snap at the NFL level. He has found ways to contribute at wide receiver though. He’s on a fairly cheap contract which should keep him around as a depth piece, but he also carries very little dead cap so he’s not a 100% lock. 

BUCCANEERS WR FREE AGENCY TAKE: Much like last year with the Mike Evans decision, everything hinges on Chris Godwin. If they can retain Godwin then they are all set, though it certainly hurts Jalen McMillan’s short-term value in your fantasy football leagues. If Godwin leaves, they may look to bring in some depth. And it’s a little trickier than you might think.

Godwin was playing in a role where he played slot for three WR sets then moved out wide to flanker for two WR sets. Mike Evans was the split end, and Jalen McMillan was the flanker for three WR sets. When Chris Godwin got hurt, the role for McMillan did not drastically change - they kept him out wide for the most part but used Sterling Shepard in the slot. 

Trey Palmer does not play much slot so, if they were to keep that set up and Shepard retires, they might move one of them to slot or they might consider adding a part-time slot player. Here are the affordable options for that.

 

 

 

Buccaneers TE Depth Chart

Cade OttonBefore the playoffs at the end of the 2023-2024 playoffs, Cade Otton was one of the least efficient tight ends on a per snap basis. But he proved both in those playoffs and during stretches of the 2024 season that he’s a highly capable receiver when called upon - they just had too much talent at WR. 

So, Cade Otton’s job is safe for 2025 at least until he becomes a free agent in 2026. He’s another player who stands to gain if Chris Godwin does not return in 2025.

Payne DurhamDurham filled in valiantly when Cade Otton was down, further cementing the status of this tight end room. He’s under contract through 2026 so his performance could dictate what happens with Otton when his contract is up. 

Ko KieftKieft is a bruiser of a blocker, but he was only utilized in a limited capacity there. He contributes on five different special teams units and teams love that, so I expect him to be back. 

Devin CulpCulp was also set to be a bit of a project as a “tweener”. At 6’4”, 237, he doesn’t have the size of a prototypical tight end, but he did run the fastest forty time of anyone that did the combine as a tight end. 

He’s not necessarily a roster lock given how little dead cap 7th round picks carry but he’s the kind of project teams should take a shot on to see what he might develop into. I would like to see them keep him as I think he is an interesting deeper stash for dynasty.

BUCCANEERS TE FREE AGENCY TAKE: The reality is that this is one of the weakest free agent classes in recent memory for tight ends. Cade Otton is likely a better option than anyone available. So, they may add some depth or special teamers but it’s unlikely they add an impact player here. If they are looking for long term upside, the draft is the way to go.