Tampa Bay

Buccaneers

Per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Barton’s deal is fully guaranteed. The rookie center has big shoes to fill, as he’ll officially be tasked with replacing the now-departed Ryan Jensen, who retired after last season due to a knee injury he suffered in July 2022. Barton earned a PFF blocking grade of 75.9 last season while allowing two sacks and 11 pressures.

Mike Evans and Trey Palmer have been sidelined, giving McMillan more reps with the first-team during the offseason program. McMillan caught all three targets from Mayfield on Wednesday, including Mayfield’s first pass of the day and a touchdown during red zone drills. The quarterback complimented McMillan for being “friendly at the top of his routes, attack[ing] the ball [and] catch[ing] with his hands.” The front office spent a third-round pick on McMillan after a sub-500-yard rookie season from Palmer, a 2023 sixth-round pick. Recurring MCL sprains hampered McMillan’s 2023 college season, but he notably led the Huskies in 2022 targets (118) and receptions (79) as the team’s starting slot receiver, edging out 2024 first-round WR Rome Odunze, who caught 75 of his 110 targets. McMillan has a chance to unseat Palmer for the No. 3 role.

Wirfs reports (and avoids fines) while seeking a long-term deal with the team. He’ll earn around $18.2 million if he plays under the fifth year option in 2024. Wirfs, 25, has proven to be an elite tackle and is likely to strike some kind of deal with the Bucs in the coming weeks. Tampa Bay’s offensive line in 2023 was graded by PFF as the NFL’s 10th best pass blocking unit.

As Stroud notes in his article, “The team really doesn’t want [Wirfs] to participate and risk getting hurt since he hasn’t done any real full-squad field work with teammates since the loss to the Lions last postseason.” Wirfs is in the final year of his rookie deal and is currently seeking an extension. Right now, he’s set to earn $18.2 million under his fifth-year option this season, and will report to camp to avoid being fined more than $100k for his absence. Wirfs is a three-time Pro Bowler and was a first-team All-Pro back in 2021. The 25-year-old tackle is among the best in the league and is in line for a big payday whenever an extension is reached.

“The nice thing I like about Bucky is he gets to his top speeds early,” Coen began. “Like, when he accepts the handoff, he bursts and accelerates through the hole and can make people miss in space.” It would seem Coen isn’t too concerned about Irving’s 4.55 40 time. The 5-foot-9 big-play back is looking like a classic change-of-pace option as a rookie, catching a few passes and hopefully contributing a few big runs. He is the definitely the contingency option behind inefficient starter Rachaad White.

The oft-injured Shepard suited up for 15 games last season after appearing in just 10 games the previous two seasons. Unfortunately, he didn’t see many chances to contribute, running just 90 routes on the year while catching 10-of-21 targets for 57 yards and a touchdown. Shepard suffered a torn ACL in 2022 and a torn Achilles in 2021 and has dealt with a myriad of other injuries throughout his career. He now reunites with former college teammate Baker Mayfield and may offer some value as added depth if he’s able to make the 53-man roster.

Thompson has spent the last four season with the Seahawks, contributing mainly on special teams and splitting time between the active roster and practice squad. He made his first career catch last season for 10 yards, but was seldom used offensively. The Buccaneers had waived receiver and special-teamer Deven Thompkins with an injury designation last week and now replace him with Thompson.

The deal should be worth roughly $5.7 million over four years. Tampa Bay got a few splash plays out of rookie wideout Trey Palmer last year but opted to add more firepower at receiver with McMillan in the third round. Chris Godwin is also entering the final year of his contract, opening a path for McMillan to see more playing time in 2025. For this year, it’s safe to assume he will be a rotational player and the clear WR3 at best, making him a better stash in dynasty and keeper leagues.

Vea reportedly played 2023 at “a lot more” than his listed weight of 347, and the Bucs’ coaching staff thought it was affecting his game. He has spent this offseason working out with famed workout warrior Ndamukong Suh. Vea isn’t exactly the kind of player you want wildly slimming down, but he apparently crossed the fine line of getting too bulky. We would expect better this season.

As ESPN’s Adam Schefter points out, this is the first time a safety has received the honor of being the highest-paid defensive back in league history. Winfield, who was robbed of a Pro Bowl nod in 2023, was named a First-Team All-Pro last season after he totaled 122 tackles, six TFLs, six sacks, and three interceptions. He also led the league with six forced fumbles. A true do-it-all safety, the bill for Winfield came due early after he slipped to the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, meaning the Buccaneers were unable to exercise a fifth-year option on him. Shortly after the 2023 season ended, the Buccaneers franchise-tagged Winfield in hopes of getting a deal done with him later this offseason. He will be 26 at the start of this season and could be due for another sizeable payday if he outplays his new deal. This new deal includes $45 million in guaranteed money and lowers his 2024 cap number to about $7 million while freeing up roughly $10 million in cap space for the Bucs.