Out of playoffs, Bucs now wait to see who will be back for 2024 season
TAMPA — Less than 24 hours after their season ended with a division-round loss in Detroit, the Bucs were back at AdventHealth Training Center Monday for wrap-up meetings and to clear out their lockers.
Looking around the room, players knew there will be some different faces next year. But just like fans, they are eager to see if big-name free agents like Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans will be back with the team.
“I think Mike’s going to be a Buccaneer for life,” left tackle Tristan Wirfs said. “I think that he deserves that. That’s the way he should go out. But yeah, he’s an incredible person. Guys look up to him. Guys in the locker room are watching when we were kids, so it’s just it’s really cool to have him here.”
Evans, with 1,255, is coming off a 10th consecutive season of 1,000 or more receiving yards. He tied for the league lead with 13 touchdown catches. A likely future Hall of Famer, Evans, 30, was disappointed a long-term extension was not worked out last summer but continues to express a desire to finish his career with the Bucs.
Mayfield, 28, signed with the Bucs on a one-year, $4 million deal to reestablish himself as an NFL starter. He passed for 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns with just 10 interceptions and was embraced by his teammates.
A Mayfield return next season “would be huge,” Wirfs said.
“Everyone knows about Bakes,” Wirfs said. “Bakes is a dog. He has been a great friend. It’s been awesome to build our relationship throughout the season and just get closer. So yeah, I really hope he’s back.”
The Bucs have 17 players set to become unrestricted free agents, including Mayfield, Evans, linebackers Lavonte David and Devin White, safeties Antoine Winfield Jr. and Ryan Neal, kicker Chase McLaughlin and offensive lineman Aaron Stinnie.
Canales gets second interview
It’s not only the locker room where there is concern about who will back next season. Offensive coordinator Dave Canales is scheduled to meet with the Panthers for a second time about their head-coaching vacancy, NFL Network reports.
“I really thought he did a heck of a job coming in first time out,” head coach Todd Bowles said. “Not only with a new quarterback, four out of five starting offensive linemen, putting in his system and working with what he had. …. Getting to know these guys and figuring out how to get these guys open in the passing game, how to get the run game better and those coaches working as a whole.
" ... All those guys did a heck of a job, and Dave was the spearhead and he did a heck of a job with that.”
Should Canales leave, Bowles said the Bucs would have internal candidates but would go through the whole interview process to find another coordinator. He said he expects his coaching staff to return next season, unless they get promotions elsewhere.
Consistency on, off the field
McLaughlin had the best season a Bucs kicker has ever had. He went 29-for-31 (93.5%) on field-goal attempts this season, including a long of 57 yards. He was 33-for-33 on extra points.
As much as the Bucs appreciated his consistency, McLaughlin, 27, enjoyed spending an entire season with one team. Over five seasons in the NFL, he has made a total of 11 stops with nine different teams.
”Sticking with one team during the year has been really great for me and my family now,” he said. “I really love the Tampa area, the team and everybody here.”
Bonds beyond the field
Shaquil Barrett may have a year left on his contract, but the veteran linebacker knows that doesn’t ensure he’ll be back next season.
“I’ve been around for a minute, and I know with my contract and my production and they have some promising young guys that all factor into it,” Barrett said. “But I would still love to be here. It’s like a second home.”
Barrett, 31, said the Bucs became more than en employer following the drowning death of his 2-year-old daughter, Arrayah, in the spring.
“My kids love it down here. So I mean, understand it’s a business, but after everything that happened this year, we’re family now to appreciate them for everything they did,” Barrett said. “Just rocking with me, sticking with me through everything and hope it’s not (the end of his time in Tampa Bay), but I know it is a real possibility. But I hope it’s not.”
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