The Hard Truth About Bucs Free Agency – And Maxx Crosby

INTRO: The Bucs are about to embark on a critical free agency period as the 2026 season officially begins on March 11 at 4:00 p.m. ET with the legal tampering window opening on March 9 at noon ET. I’ve got the hard truth about Tampa Bay’s available cash to spend in free agency, which is far more relevant than the salary cap room that the team can create with some restructures. And you may not like what you’re about to hear.

As a result, Bucs fans should temper their expectations this spring. But a potential trade for Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby is doable – it will just come at a steep price if executed. Enjoy this week’s SR’s FAB 5, Pewter People!

FAB 1. The Hard Truth About Bucs Free Agency In 2026

The Bucs have some gaping holes at inside linebacker and outside linebacker. Fixing Todd Bowles’ defense is Jason Licht’s No. 1 priority this offseason.

So it makes sense to go get the best available free agents – guys like Cincinnati’s Pro Bowl edge rusher Trey Hendrickson and Jacksonville’s Pro Bowl inside linebacker Devin Lloyd, right?

Well, considering that Hendrickson will likely command around $21 million – which is $7 million more than the Bucs paid Haason Reddick last year – on a one-year deal, and Lloyd should fetch a three-year contract worth $48 million, averaging $16 million per year, that’s essentially $37 million in cash spending this year.

That’s $37 million of the $50 million left that the Bucs have to spend in their cash budget, which is right around the projected salary cap amount of $305 million this year.

If you want Hendrickson and Lloyd, I guess you don’t want Mike Evans back in Tampa Bay then. Because he’s not going to play for the $13 million left in the cash budget that the Bucs have to spend.

But, but, but assistant general manager and cap wizard Mike Greenberg can do restructures to manipulate the cap and create more cap room, right?

Yes, he’ll have to because the Bucs will need some more salary cap room this offseason.

But this isn’t about cap room. This is about cash spending, as Pewter Report’s Josh Queipo has discussed before. You see the $23 million in cap room that the Bucs have available on OverTheCap.com and you think that’s how much the team has available to spend.

But what you’re not factoring in – nor is OTC – the $12 million in Tampa Bay’s rookie salary pool this year after the draft, nor the $8 million in the 16-player practice squad player budget, nor the $8 million in cap room the team has to leave for injury replacement signings when players go on injured reserve.

So that $23 million in cap space you see on OTC has already been spent in Greenberg’s mind – and it’s already accounted for on his spreadsheet. So really, the Bucs are at about break-even in cap room entering free agency. And yes, this already essentially factors in the increase in the NFL salary cap, which is projected to be between $301 million and $305 million in 2026.

So the Bucs will have to do some restructures to create the cap room necessary to add some free agents – and spend the $50 million in cash they have budgeted in 2026.

You want Tampa Bay to trade for Las Vegas Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby? The Bucs will have to absorb his contract, which will pay him $30 million in 2026. Sure, Greenberg can restructure the deal from a cap standpoint and reduce his cap hit for 2026, but Crosby is still going to get paid $30 million this year in cash.

So out of the $50 million in cash the Bucs have in 2026, they’ll have $20 million left to spend on remaining free agents in this scenario.

Evans will cost somewhere between $16 million-$20 million, so acquiring Crosby and re-signing Evans would just about exhaust the available cash budget Tampa Bay has in 2026.

That means Lavonte David won’t – and essentially can’t – return to Tampa Bay because the team couldn’t afford him. Even for a paltry $5 million per year. And it would also mean that the Bucs better draft two inside linebackers because they won’t be able to afford to sign a starting-caliber linebacker in free agency.

That also means that the Bucs can’t re-sign Cade Otton – or add Kyle Pitts or any real starting-caliber tight end in free agency. So the team would have to draft a starting-caliber tight end, but it wouldn’t be Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq because it wouldn’t have a first-round pick because that would be shipped to Las Vegas to acquire Crosby in this scenario.

So Tampa Bay’s starting tight ends in 12 personnel would be Payne Durham and Devin Culp, unless the team found a Day 3 gem in the draft because the Day 2 picks would likely have to be used on inside linebackers.

Roster construction isn’t as easy in real life as it is in Madden or on some of the websites with simulators that let you play general manager because they are only focused on the salary cap. And yes, the cap can always be manipulated with Greenberg being one of the best and most creative to do it.

But as the Bucs found out after the Super Bowl, the credit card bill always comes due. And as the amount of the bill becomes higher it chokes future years’ salary caps with each extension that Greenberg does.

So if you’re expecting the Bucs to be super aggressive in free agency with three or four big splash signings – don’t. You’re going to be disappointed when that doesn’t happen.

Instead, temper your enthusiasm to Tampa Bay making one or two big moves – and hopefully one of them is re-signing Evans. The Bucs just aren’t flush with the cash to do much more this year.

Why is that? Read on to find out.

FAB 2. Why Don’t The Bucs Have More Cap Room And Money To Spend In Free Agency?

Bucs fans want this team to go all-in during free agency to ensure a bounce back from last year’s disappointing 8-9 record and the loss of the NFC South crown to the Panthers. That would mean the Glazers increasing their cash budget past the current expected amount of around $305 million.

The last time they allocated more to their very reasonable cash budget, which typically mirrors the current NFL salary cap, is in 2020 when the team signed Tom Brady and acquired Rob Gronkowski. And that was the right time to make that right move in Bruce Arians’ second season as head coach.

I don’t think the Glazers believe this is the time to go all-in for a Super Bowl championship – and rightly so after last year’s 8-9 season.

In 2020, Tampa Bay had a Super Bowl-caliber offensive line and a Super Bowl-caliber defensive line, and a younger Lavonte David in his prime along with two Pro Bowl receivers in their prime in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin Jr. The Bucs were coming off a far different 7-9 season in 2019 compared to last year’s 8-9 record.

There is a lot of heavy lifting to do to in 2026 in rebuilding the front seven, which needs two new inside linebackers, a new starting outside linebacker and better depth pieces at defensive tackle – just in case Calijah Kancey continues to miss time due to injury and in case Vita Vea’s production falls off at age 31. Plus, there is no guarantee that Evans returns at age 33, and the Bucs may not be able to afford to re-sign starting tight end Cade Otton in free agency.

So as much as the Glazers may love Bowles and want to see him succeed as Tampa Bay’s head coach by giving him another chance this season, it’s not like they are going to go overboard just to make sure that happens.

This is a sink-or-swim moment for Bowles in 2026 – as it should be for a head coach that has had a pair of 8-9 finishes in four years in Tampa Bay where he’s produced a 35-33 record with a 1-3 mark in the postseason. This season Bowles is going to have coach – and scheme – his ass off.

The Bucs are going to have to win with the roster that he and general manager Jason Licht have already constructed – along with a few tier 2 free agents and the 2026 draft class sprinkled in. And maybe one splash signing or trade acquisition if it’s the right player at the right price.

Bowles was right to shake up his coaching staff because there needs to be way more player development happening this year than what has occurred in the past. Tampa Bay’s current roster needs to play better because there is not going to be a wave of reinforcements this offseason outside of a few moves in free agency and the 2026 draft class.

Why is that? Why won’t the Bucs spend more this year?

Surely you’ve seen the graphic where the Bucs can free up $107.2 million this year by doing some contract restructures. The problem is that the Bucs only have $50 million to spend in cash per the Glazers’ budget.

Don’t think the Glazers are being cheap. The Bucs will be spending up to the 2026 salary cap or very close to it.

There are several NFL teams that do not, including the Saints, Rams, Packers, Seahawks and Raiders, who have spent well below the cap over the last 5-6 years generally speaking.

Believe it or not, the Bucs have become a very expensive team in 2026 – which makes last year’s 2-7 collapse and 8-9 finish even more damning.

Tampa Bay has six players with 2026 cap values over $20 million, led by quarterback Baker Mayfield, who is in the final year of his contract with a $39.975 million cap value. The other five are left tackle Tristan Wirfs ($36.32 million), Godwin ($33.68 million), safety Antoine Winfield Jr. ($27.46 million), right tackle Luke Goedeke ($22.68 million) and defensive tackle Vita Vea ($22.19 million), who is also in a contract year.

Bucs With Cap Values Over $20 Million In 2026

QB Baker Mayfield – $39.975 million
LT Tristan Wirfs – $36.32 million
WR Chris Godwin – $33.68 million
S Antoine Winfield Jr. – $27.46 million
RT Luke Goedeke – $22.68 million
DT Vita Vea – $22.19 million

If the Bucs re-sign Evans to another $20 million deal, the number of players with $20 million cap values will climb to seven.

To put that number in perspective, the Super Bowl champion Seahawks currently have just two players with salary cap values higher than $20 million. San Francisco and Los Angeles only have three. Philadelphia has four. Detroit has five.

So if you want Tampa Bay to sign edge rusher Trey Hendrickson at his market value at $21 million or trade for edge rusher Maxx Crosby, who has a $30 million salary in 2026, that number climbs to eight along with Evans’ re-signing.

At some point the Bucs just can’t keep paying players $20 million because the roster is becoming too top heavy.

This might force the Bucs to move on from Vea in free agency next year as he turns 32 unless he re-signs at a cheaper amount. Right now, Vea could command a new two-year, $40 million deal if he were to hit free agency this year with his current valuation.

And after this year where Godwin has $22 million in guaranteed money, the Bucs can move on from him in 2027 if they want, as he’ll be 31 with no more guaranteed money in his contract.

But Yaya Diaby is poised to strike it rich in free agency next year with a four-year deal worth $88 million – or close to it. And if Cody Mauch returns to form in his return to action in his contract year, he could earn a four-year deal worth $64 million in 2027.

If you think those players aren’t worth their contract projections and are expendable, realize that Vea is the team’s best defensive tackle, Diaby is the best edge rusher and Mauch is Tampa Bay’s best guard. And the Bucs don’t have any replacements for those players on deck right now.

And we haven’t even gotten to Mayfield yet.

FAB 3. Baker Mayfield Is Going To Get Paid – A Lot

Whether you think Baker Mayfield is a very good quarterback or not, he will be signed to an extension either this offseason or next year – barring a catastrophic injury or a serious downturn in his play in 2026. He’s the heart and soul of the Buccaneers and the engine that runs Tampa Bay’s offense.

There is a chance that the team could try to strike a deal with Mayfield early and ink him to a three-year contract extension worth $50 million per season right now. That would represent a huge pay increase from his current deal that pays him an average of $33.3 million per year.

So $50 million is the floor for Mayfield’s next deal. Whether you agree with it or not, Mayfield could fetch $50 million per year – or more – if he were to hit free agency right now. Keep in mind that the Dolphins will likely jettison Tua Tagovailoa, who makes an average of $53.1 million per year, and the Cardinals seem out on Kyler Murray, who makes an average of $46.1 million.

Even after winning a Super Bowl just two years ago, Philadelphia fans don’t have a lot of faith in Jalen Hurts, whose new deal averages $51 million per year. Mayfield is as good – if not better – than those QBs.

Mayfield is not a top 5 quarterback, and he may not even be a top 10 quarterback in the league. But if he were to sign a deal worth at least $50 million per year, Mayfield would be the league’s 12th-highest paid QB – up from the 19th – and that feels about right, as he’s probably a top 12 quarterback.

Entering his contract year, Mayfield will earn $40 million in cash and have a cap value of $39.9 million. The Bucs wouldn’t mind an extension – at the right price – that could restructure Mayfield’s deal and create some much-needed cap space this offseason.

But unless Mayfield wants to do an extension now and agrees to terms with the Bucs, that won’t happen. He could very well want to bet on himself and play out his contract year.

Mayfield had a down year statistically in 2025, completing 63.2% of his passes for 3,693 yards with 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Sources tell me that if he has a season like he did under Liam Coen in 2024 where he completed 71.4% of his passes for 4,500 yards with 41 touchdowns and 16 interceptions, Mayfield could fetch a new contract worth north of $60 million per season.

Dallas’ Dak Prescott is currently the league’s highest-paid QB making $60 million per year. With new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson coming from the same Sean McVay tree that Coen did, Mayfield could be anticipating a big season like he had in 2024, and that will only lead to an even bigger contract in 2027.

If Mayfield’s new deal is $60 million or more, that will represent almost double what he’s been averaging in Tampa Bay over the last three seasons ($33.3 million) – and continue to make the Bucs one of the more expensive teams in the league.

Don’t think Mayfield is worth it? Well, there’s no one on the roster that can replace him right now. Good quarterbacks rarely hit free agency, and this team hasn’t drafted a franchise quarterback in 50 years.

So expect to see Mayfield in red and pewter for years to come.

FAB 4. The Bucs Only Have A Few Restructure Candidates

If Tampa Bay isn’t doing a contract extension for Baker Mayfield, who has a $39.975 million cap value, this year then he’s not a candidate to restructure his contract.

And unless the Bucs want to roll the dice and extend Vita Vea’s deal rather than let him play in a contract year at age 31, which would be the wise thing to do, the team can’t restructure him, either. So Vea will count $22,194,462 against this year’s cap.

Don’t expect the Bucs to touch Chris Godwin Jr.’s contract either. Godwin has a cap value of $33.683 million and he has $22 million in guaranteed salary this year, but no guaranteed money in 2027. If Godwin doesn’t return to form in 2026 as a 1,000-yard receiver the Bucs will have to move on from him or force him to take a serious pay cut after this season.

Tampa Bay can’t restructure Godwin because he already has void years in 2028 and 2029, and the team won’t want to kick that can down the road by allocating more of his salary into future years. The Bucs already have an escape route from Godwin’s contract in 2027 as he’s set to earn $20.5 million, but would only have $16.231 million in dead money next year if the team cuts him.

Cornerback Zyon McCollum’s cap value in 2026 is $15,550,500, and a contract that high would typically make him a restructure candidate. But after a very down year in 2026 after the team signed him to a contract extension that averages $16 million per year through 2028, the Bucs can get out of McCollum’s deal after the 2026 season.

McCollum is guaranteed $14.954 million this year but has no guaranteed money in 2027. He’s set to have a base salary of $14.896 million next year, but the Bucs could save a big chunk of cash and cap room in 2027 if Tampa Bay were to cut him, as he is dead cap value would only be $2.153 million.

So that really leaves just three players that assistant general manager Mike Greenberg could turn to as far as creating more cap space this offseason.

Left tackle Tristan Wirfs has a cap value of $36,328,582 with a $26 million base salary. Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. has a $27.466 million cap value with a $19.5 million base salary. Right tackle Luke Goedeke has a cap value of $22,681,200 only with a $1.215 million base salary and a $20.275 million roster bonus coming due.

According to Pewter Report’s salary cap guru Josh Queipo, restructuring Wirfs could create as much as $18.5 million in cap room, restructuring Goedeke could create $15.2 million and a Winfield restructure could create $13.7 million in cap space.

And guess what? That totals $47.4 million in cap room – the perfect amount to spend the $50 million cash left in the Bucs’ 2026 budget. So expect these restructures to take place prior to or at the start of free agency.

FAB 5. Tampa Bay Could Swing A Trade For Maxx Crosby – Here’s How

After reading all of this salary cap stuff, what Bucs fans really want to know is: “Can Tampa Bay swing a trade for Las Vegas’ Pro Bowl pass rusher Maxx Crosby?”

The answer is yes – as long as the Bucs and Raiders agree to the appropriate amount of draft pick compensation. Expect it to come at a steep price for Tampa Bay.

Yet with Tampa Bay more than just one alpha edge rusher away from truly competing for a Super Bowl, the Bucs will need to preserve as much 2026 draft capital as possible to use that on finding some inside linebackers, more talented depth at defensive tackle and maybe another good cornerback for depth and development.

Bucs general manager Jason Licht doesn’t part ways with draft picks very easily. The highest amount of draft capital he’s ever traded away was a third-round pick for edge rusher Jason Pierre-Paul in 2018.

But with the Bucs needing to find a starting-caliber stud outside linebacker, the team could very well spend a first-round draft pick on one this year. Pewter Report has the team taking Texas A&M’s Cashius Howell at No. 15 in our latest 2026 7-Round Bucs Mock Draft.

So if Licht were to trade this year’s first-round pick to Las Vegas for a proven commodity like the 28-year old Crosby that would a wise investment. But it will take more than just a first-round pick for Raiders G.M. John Spytek to part ways with his six-time Pro Bowler.

The Bucs may have to throw in a second-round pick – preferably in 2027 – along with a player. I’m not sure former second-round edge rusher Chris Braswell has much trade value given his lack of production over the past two years, but Spytek was quite fond of him when Tampa Bay drafted him. And he would be a young body to replace Crosby on the depth chart – albeit further down the depth chart as a depth piece. That would free up about $800,000 in cap room.

And that is a consideration, although the Bucs could create the cap room to absorb Crosby’s high salary cap value. The problem is that Crosby has a $30 million base salary this year, and Tampa Bay would only have about $20 million left to spend if it acquired him via a trade.

But if the Bucs shipped Braswell and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. to the Raiders instead of a second-round pick, Tampa Bay would save the $19.5 million in cash that the team was going to spend on Winfield and absorb Crosby’s guaranteed $30 million base salary much easier. In fact, that offset would result in only $10.5 million in new spending. That means the Bucs would have $39.5 million left in cash to spend in free agency instead of just $20 million if Winfield were to remain with the Bucs.

And Tampa Bay wouldn’t be adding yet another $20 million-plus player to its roster in this trade – it would be a swap with Crosby’s arrival and Winfield’s departure.

Of course the Bucs would have to sign another high-caliber safety in free agency or draft one to replace Winfield, who turns 28 this year and is coming off a Pro Bowl season.

But the impact that a Pro Bowl pass rusher like Crosby could make would likely be greater than Winfield’s impact because of positional importance. Football is a game traditionally won or lost in the trenches rather than the secondary.

At some point if the Bucs want to continue to keep adding players making $20 million or more the team will also have shed some, too.

And with Baker Mayfield set to get a significant raise in 2027 to take up even more salary cap room and command more cash, the Bucs will have to part ways with some aging, high-priced stars. Tampa Bay simply won’t have a choice.