Losses of Mike Evans, Jamel Dean, and Lavonte David leave league insiders questioning Tampa’s direction as the roster weakens despite attempts to reload through the NFL draft.
Most would probably agree the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have to win the NFC South for the 2026 season to be considered a success.
But at least two NFL executives feel the 2026 team, at least on paper, is worse than last year's squad, which lost seven of its last nine games and missed the division title for the first time this decade.
“They have definitely taken a step back,” one anonymous executive told The Athletic. “I don’t know how they are better.”
Another executive who The Athletic granted anonymity said the loss of Mike Evans, the franchise's all-time leading receiver, who signed a three-year, $60 million deal with the San Francisco 49ers in March, not only will weaken the team, but it is also an indicator of where the Bucs are headed.
"The fact that he left for what he perceived to be a closer contender, and for less money, seems like an indictment on the direction in Tampa," the executive said.
Bucs general manager Jason Licht confirmed the Bucs did offer more money.
Evans wasn't the only Buccaneer who left via free agency.
Jamel Dean, who statistically was Tampa's best cornerback in 2025, signed a three-year, $36.75 million deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Tampa also lost the only player who had been with the franchise for longer than Evans when LB Lavonte David announced his retirement in late March.
Tampa addressed all three losses in last month's NFL draft, taking a linebacker in the second round (Missouri's Josiah Trotter), a receiver in the third round (Georgia State's Ted Hurst) and a corner in the fourth round (Miami's Keionte Scott).
The Bucs also added a linebacker in free agency in veteran Alex Anzalone, who is entering his tenth season.
Even if the Bucs have a less experienced and potentially less talented roster in 2026, it will be hard for the team to have worse luck than it did in 2025.
The team dealt with injuries all season.
Bucky Irving, who rushed for more than 1,100 yards as a rookie in 2024, missed seven games due to injury in 2025.
Tampa suffered a variety of injuries on the offensive line that forced it to use nine combinations throughout the season.
Although quarterback Baker Mayfield didn't miss any games, he was hardly 100-percent, and those are just some of the injuries to key offensive players.
Defensively, young defensive tackle Calijah Kancey missed all but three games with a torn pectoral muscle, Dean missed three games and Haason Reddick missed four.
The Bucs were also unlucky late in their year, losing four straight games by a single possession. If even one of those had been a win, Tampa would have won a sixth straight NFC South title, and who knows what would have happened in the postseason.
2026 will be a pivotal year for Tampa for a variety of reasons, one of the biggest being that the Bucs may have to start a new era at quarterback in 2027, depending on what happens with Mayfield, who is set to be a free agent after the season.
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