With the NFL preseason about to kick into full gear, you’d be hard pressed to find a team with worse vibes at present than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Their five-year postseason streak and four-year streak of NFC South division titles ended last season.
Their QB1, Baker Mayfield, aired out the team’s dirty laundry when he told reporters that he felt disrespected and undervalued by the contract extension offers he’s received from Tampa Bay.
An anchor on the Bucs defense, defensive tackle Vita Vea, has also formally requested a trade after extension talks sputtered out.
Coach Todd Bowles is back for a fifth season against the wishes of many in the fanbase.
Is this a salvageable situation at this point? I’m not sure.
Mayfield has redeemed his career in Tampa, brought on after Tom Brady’s retirement and throwing for 12,237 yards, 95 touchdowns and 37 interceptions over three seasons.
The former No. 1 pick’s immediate impact was rewarded when Tampa Bay signed him to a three-year, $100 million contract after one season leading the team. But Mayfield made it clear that his next deal needed to be nailed down before training camp for the final year of his current contract began.
That didn’t happen, with the Buccaneers reportedly holding firm to offering a two-year contract while Mayfield was seeking more years.
Now, it’s very much up in the air if Mayfield will hold to his words, not discuss a new contract during the season and instead elect to pursue free agency next offseason.
Given his brash attitude throughout a career spurred on by spite, I wouldn’t bet against him holding firm.
While Mayfield is at least practicing, Vea still hasn’t participated at the team’s training camp. He’s holding in, although the team is spinning the on-field absence by saying that he tweaked his back during a conditioning workout in July.
Even if that’s true, it doesn’t seem likely Vea — who is saying that the only way he sees this saga ending is with a trade — would be practicing even if he was 100%.
As if that wasn’t enough, the Buccaneers are also adjusting to life without franchise receiver Mike Evans, who surpassed 1,000 yards in each of his first 11 seasons before an injury-prone 2025 led to Tampa Bay moving on and Evans landing in San Francisco.
Tampa is not lacking in other receiver options, with Chris Godwin Jr. and breakout 2025 rookie Emeka Egbuka able to fill the void.
But it’s just more adversity that a team which appears to be entering the season on shaky ground will need to overcome.
The potential saving grace for the Buccaneers could be the state of the NFC South division.
They failed to win the division last year for the first time since 2020 due to a three-way tiebreaker which didn’t go their way.
Despite that, the Carolina Panthers, who won the division, don’t seem ready to be a perennial contender, the Atlanta Falcons are an enigma and the New Orleans Saints seem more ready to compete for the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s draft than for a division title.
Still, the Buccaneers haven’t exactly separated themselves despite the success, winning double-digit games just once in the last four seasons.
This could be the year that things catch up with Tampa Bay, leaving a bleak near-future.
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