As February winds down, that must mean only one thing: NFL free agency is about to ramp up in just a few weeks and the Buccaneers will be busy.
Mike Evans, Baker Mayfield, and Antoine Winfield Jr are just three free agents that the Buccaneers need to sign to new contracts to keep around in Tampa.
Then there is the contract of Tristan Wirfs, which must be addressed sooner rather than later.
Bucs Must Sign Mike Evans
The first order of business for the Buccaneers will be to sign wide receiver Mike Evans and ensure that he retires a Buccaneer.
Evans will get a contract in the 25 million dollar-a-year range. There will be no home town discount this time. Evans has taken less money and repeatedly renegotiated his contract to help the Buccaneers resign some free agents over the years. It’s time to pay the man.
Jason Licht talked about Evans at the NFL combine on Tuesday and said he wants to make Evans “A Buccaneer for life.” Evans is coming off one of the best years of his career, catching 79 passes for 1,255 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.
Once Evans is signed, negotiations with Baker Mayfield should heat up. Mayfield spoke highly of Evans throughout the season and of building something great with Evans in Tampa.
Buccaneers Looking To Resign Baker Mayfield
Licht said that contract negotiations have begun with Mayfield and Evans. Licht also discussed the “perfect marriage” between Mayfield and the Buccaneers.
“You know, Baker meant a lot to this team and this fan base and this town. I think we meant a lot to him, and I think it was a perfect marriage.”
“I think I’ve said before he sought us out. He gambled on us. He saw it as a good situation. He saw it better than a lot of national people who saw us winning two games. He thought it would be good for him, and it certainly was. I know he wants to be a Buc. We want him to be a Buc. That’s usually a good starting point, and the same could be said for the rest of these guys.”
Mayfield had his best season in Tampa, passing for 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns.
Mayfield will probably sign a contract for around $82 million for three years, which breaks down to $27.3 million per season.
Antoine Winfield Jr. Will Get The Franchise Tag
If the Buccaneers cannot agree with Antoine Winfield Jr. on a new contract by next Tuesday, the Bucs can slap the franchise tag on Winfield Jr.
That would guarantee Winfield Jr. $17.12 million in 2024.
The Buccaneers did free up some cap space by cutting linebacker Shaq Barrett.
Barrett had an excellent career in Tampa and was instrumental in Tampa’s winning the Super Bowl after the 2020 season.
Barrett holds the single-season sack record for the Buccaneers with 19.5 and is fourth all-time in sacks with 45.
He suffered an Achilles injury in 2022 and struggled to come back and play at the high level we were used to seeing him play.
He also dealt with the death of his daughter in a tragic swimming pool accident and registered just 7.5 sacks in the last two seasons.
It will be a busy month for the Buccaneers as they are in talks with Mayfield, Evans, Winfield Jr, Lavonte David, and extending the contract of tackle Tristan Wirfs.
Licht also needs to set aside some money for kicker Chase McLaughlin, who set a club record by connecting on 29 of 31 field goals. That was good for a club-record 93.5 percent conversion rate. Licht said they would be opening talks with McLaughlin soon.
The Buccaneers have shown zero interest in bringing back linebacker Devin White, who is in the market for a new contract.
The GM expressed confidence that the Buccaneers can sign their free agents by the time the NFL New Year opens on March 13th.
Jason Licht hinted at another boat parade if the Bucs can sign their free agents. “If we can re-sign Mike and Baker and Lavonte and Chase and Antoine and Tristan, I mean, we should be throwing another boat parade.”