Discover five affordable linebacker options for the Buccaneers, focusing on speed, playmaking, and scheme fit to bolster their defense this offseason.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers need help at linebacker, and this will be true regardless of whether 36-year-old Lavonte David retires.
Devin Lloyd of the Jacksonville Jaguars has been linked to the Bucs, but the 2025 Pro Bowler's market value projects north of $60 million over three years. It's hard to see the Bucs paying that price.
Here are five less high-end options the Bucs could consider in free agency, starting with the least likely scenario.
No. 5: Nakobe Dean
Dean is probably the least likely player on this list to pack up and move to Tampa. The main obstacle is the length of his contract. Sportac has Dean's market value projected at $31.6 million over four years, which would be a big commitment for the Buccaneers to make for a player who has only played a full regular season once during his four-year career.
When healthy, Dean is very good and has established himself as one of the league's top blitzing linebackers with the Philadelphia Eagles (92.3 pass rush grade, per Pro Football Focus), which might complement head coach/defensive coordinator Todd Bowles' scheme.
Greg Auman, who covers the NFC South for FoxSports, recently predicted the Bucs would sign Dean.
With that said, Tampa Bay isn't known to give out these types of long-term deals to free agents -- they declined to negotiate with the franchise's best-ever receiver, Mike Evans, for longer than a two-year extension in 2024 -- so that might put Dean on the "less likely" side.
No. 4: Devin Bush
Bush, a South Florida native and son of former Atlanta Falcons safety Devin Bush Sr., is two years older than Dean, which is why his market value is three years compared to four, so that makes it a little more likely the Bucs would be willing to woo him.
Bush is coming off the season for his life with the Cleveland Browns, setting career highs in tackles (125), interceptions (three, two returned for touchdowns) and passes defended (eight).
He's the type of sideline-to-sideline linebacker who Bowles favors, and if the Bucs could get him to sign for two years instead of three, he'd be an even more realistic option.
No. 3: Quincy Williams
The Bucs probably wouldn't have to worry about signing Williams to a multiyear contract.
Sportac projects Williams to sign a one-year deal for an estimated $9.2 million.
But Williams is coming off a down year in 2025 for the New York Jets.
Williams was a first-team All-Pro in 2023, so if he can regain that form, he'd be a steal for whatever team signs him. A high-school track star, Williams is known for his speed, which makes him a blitz threat, and he had 100-plus tackles every year from 2021-2024, which speaks well of his ability to stop the run.
No. 2: Kaden Elliss
The Falcons want to keep Elliss, which first-year defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich revealed earlier this month.
The Bucs would probably enjoy stealing a key player from an NFC South team.
Dubbed by ESPN's Aaron Schatz as a "perfect" fit for the Bucs' defense, Elliss is known for his ability to blitz and rush, having totaled 73 pressures over the past two seasons.
His market value heading into free agency is roughly $27 million over three years, which the Bucs might be more willing to go for, considering who they'd be taking him from.
No. 1: Leo Chenal
The analytics love Chenal, with Pro Football Focus giving him a grade of above 70 in each of his four NFL seasons. He's been especially effective against the run, where he's graded above 90 in 2023 and 2024, and is rock solid in coverage, too, with his 72.6 grade ranking 11th out of 88 players at his position (his 48 pressures since 2022 also show that he can blitz, which is a big asset in Bowles' defense).
Chenal has done well for the Kansas City Chiefs when called on, but he's yet to have a full-time role in the defense, playing in fewer than half of the team's snaps in 2025 and never more than 600.
Chenal is only 25, which means the Bucs probably would have to sign him to a multiyear deal. At the same time, Spotrac only has his annual market value at $4.6 million per season, making him more affordable and cap-friendly option.
The Chiefs rank last in the NFL in available cap space, which could also help the Bucs if they want to pursue him.
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