Buccaneers wide receiver Jalen McMillan closed his rookie season with seven touchdowns in the team’s final five regular season games, but a neck injury interfered with his ability to build on that in 2025.
McMillan missed the first 13 games of the season after getting injured in the preseason to add to woes at the position that included extended absences for Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. McMillan caught 12 passes in the team’s final four games and head coach Todd Bowles said last week that the wideout’s return was a positive sign of things to come.
“I was just happy to see him come back,” Bowles said, via the team’s website. “There was a point in the season where I did not know if he would come back and then if he came back, I did not know if he would have the jitters, especially with the neck injury. I think the first game back he took a vicious hit and kind of fell on his neck and he got up like nothing happened and then I was happy after that. He is a very talented guy and he is a very passionate guy. I think he fits in great with the receiver room and he is a workhorse. He comes out to work everyday and I think he has some great football ahead of him.”
Evans is planning to check out what’s available to him as a free agent and his departure would make McMillan’s continued health and productivity even more significant to the Buccaneers’ offensive future.
The asking price was made clear last week to interested teams. The question now is whether someone is sufficiently interested in sending two first-round picks and a player to the Raiders for defensive end Maxx Crosby.
Over the weekend, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times explored the question of whether the Buccaneers would do it.
Most of Stroud’s article focuses on reasons why the Bucs would refrain. One, longtime G.M. Jason Licht rarely trades draft picks. Two, the team’s recent history with respect to the acquisition of edge rushers hasn’t been good.
But they need help at the position. Haason Reddick was a disappointment in 2025, after signing a one-year, $14 million deal. YaYa Diaby is the primary pass rusher. And they have optimism regarding David Walker, a 2025 fourth-round pick who tore an ACL early in training camp.
On the surface, Stroud seems to devote most of the item to explaining why the Buccaneers won’t pull the trigger on a trade for Crosby. On the other hand, it feels like an effort to plant a flag as to the possibility, in the event it happens.
“If Crosby is available, history tells us Licht won’t go after him,” Stroud writes. “But fortune does favor the bold at times.”
The Raiders may also favor sending Crosby out of the conference. And Raiders minority owner (with real influence over the football operations) Tom Brady may be willing to soften the expectations a bit as a favor to the G.M. who helped Brady get his seventh Super Bowl ring.
For now, it’s something worth keeping an eye on. The Bucs hold the 15th overall pick in the draft. If the Bears, for example, offer the 25th overall pick in 2026 and a first-rounder that could be even lower in 2027, maybe Tampa could attach something less than its first-rounder next year to get it done. The question then would be whether the Raiders want a player with whom the Bucs would be willing to part ways.
While Raiders G.M. John Spytek and coach Klint Kubiak said all the right (and predictable) things about Crosby during the Scouting Combine last week, there’s been nothing to contradict Jay Glazer’s claim from less than four weeks ago that Crosby is “done” with the Raiders.
The Raiders may ultimately have to take the best offer they can get. There’s a chance that the highest 2026 pick they’d acquire would come from Tampa Bay.
Teams making decisions about picking up the fifth-year options on the contracts of their 2023 first-round picks now know how much that will cost.
The NFL revealed the values on Friday afternoon. There are four levels of compensation at each position. Players who have made multiple Pro Bowls as an original selection are at the top followed by players with one Pro Bowl selection and players who have hit playing time milestones before reaching the lowest level.
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young and Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud were the first two picks of that draft and both of them reached the playing time level of compensation. That will leave them with fully guaranteed salaries of $25.904 million if the teams decide to exercise the options, but longer-term extensions are also a possibility now that they have finished their third seasons.
The full list of 2023 first-rounders — there were 31 that year because the Dolphins were stripped of their pick — and their fifth-year option salaries appears below:
1. Panthers QB Bryce Young — $25.904 million (playing time).
2. Texans QB C.J. Stroud — $25.904 million (playing time).
3. Texans DE Will Anderson — $21.512 (Pro Bowl).
4. Colts QB Anthony Richardson — $22.483 million (base).
5. Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon — $21.161 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
6. Cardinals OT Paris Johnson — $19.072 million (playing time).
7. Raiders DE Tyree Wilson — $14.475 million (base).
8. Falcons RB Bijan Robinson — $11.323 million (Pro Bowl).
9. Eagles DT Jalen Carter — $27.127 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
10. Bears OT Darnell Wright — $19.072 million (playing time).
11. Titans OG Peter Skoronski — $19.072 million (playing time).
12. Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs — $14.293 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
13. Packers DE Lukas Van Ness — $14.475 million (base).
14. Steelers OT Broderick Jones — $19.072 million (playing time).
15. Jets DE Will McDonald — $14.475 million (base).
16. Rams CB Emmanuel Forbes — $12.633 million (base).
17. Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez — $18.119 million (Pro Bowl).
18. Lions LB Jack Campbell — $21.925 million (Pro Bowl).
19. Buccaneers DT Calijah Kancey — $15.451 (playing time).
20. Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba — $23.852 million (Pro Bowl).
21. Chargers WR Quentin Johnston — $18 million (playing time).
22. Ravens WR Zay Flowers — $27.298 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
23. Vikings WR Jordan Addison — $18 million (playing time).
24. Giants CB Deonte Banks — $12.633 million (base).
25. Bills TE Dalton Kincaid — $8.162 million (base).
26. Jets DT Mazi Smith — $13.391 million (base) Smith was traded to the Jets by the Cowboys.
27. Jaguars OT Anton Harrison — $19.072 million (playing time).
28. Bengals DE Myles Murphy — $14.475 million (base).
29. Saints DT Bryan Bresee — $13.391 million (base).
30. Eagles LB Nolan Smith — $13.752 million (base).
31. Chiefs Felix Anudike-Uzomah — $14.475 million (base).
Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is heading into the last year of his contract, but General Manager Jason Licht indicated on PFT Live that an extension could be coming soon.
Asked if Mayfield and the Bucs will work out a long-term contract extension, Licht answered, “Everything’s on the table right now.”
“I don’t have a timeline for that but our plans revolve around Baker in the future, so I don’t think anybody wants to see Baker leave the organization,” Licht said. “We know everything we need to know about Baker, being with him for three years, and everything is positive. He’s tough as hell, great leader. No timeline, but all plans revolve around Baker.”
The Bucs are currently projected to have about $23 million in cap space when the 2026 league year starts, and Licht said the team’s contracts are structured in such a way that they always have flexibility to extend the players they want to extend and bring in free agents the Bucs think can help them win.
“We always like to pride ourselves in having flexibility for things that might come up,” Licht said.
Licht said having Mayfield on the team is a draw to free agents, comparing his presence to having Tom Brady.
“It was like when we had Tom,” Licht said. “A lot of players love the thought of playing with Baker, on both sides of the ball.”
And the Bucs would like to be able to tell free agents that Tampa has Mayfield locked in for a few more years.
Mike Evans will play a 13th season. The question is: Will the wide receiver return to Tampa, or will he finish his career elsewhere?
“Love Mike and would love to have Mike back,” Bucs General Manager Jason Licht said Tuesday, via video from Pewter Report. “He’s earned the right with his resume, and Mike as a person, what he’s meant to this entire community, fan base, all of us. I could go on and on, which we have. He’s earned that right. We’d love to have Mike back. We’ll just see how the process goes.”
Licht has talked to Evans and the wide receiver’s agent, Deryk Gilmore. The sides have “a very open line of communication,” Licht said. But Licht acknowledged he has no guarantee the Bucs will get a chance to match once Evans hits free agency on March 11.
Evans ranks 20th on PFT’s top-100 free agents list.
“We’ll have to see how that goes. I can’t tell you for sure that we would,” Licht said. I don’t know right now we’re in the point where we’re at is he’s kind of testing the market and we know we do have open lines of communication and always will.”
Evans, 33, had hamstring and collarbone injuries last season, forcing him to miss nine games. It was his first non-1,000-yard season, as he had career lows in catches (30) and yards (368).
It sounds as if Evans has played his final game in Tampa, but the Bucs are holding out hope they can get him back.
“Ultimately, we’d like to have him retire as a Buc,” Licht said.
Regardless, Licht said Evans has “earned” being called one of the franchise’s all-time great players, and when he retires, Evans will join the likes of Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and Doug Williams in the team’s Ring of Honor.
