The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are inching closer to the 2026 regular season and hope to correct course this year. The team failed to win the NFC South last year for the first time since 2020 and also missed out on the playoffs for the first time since 2019. It was a weird season, to say the least, but even with everything that went against the Bucs, they were still right there until the end of the season battling it out for the NFC South crown.
All of that being said, there are plenty of reasons to worry about this year's Bucs team as they enter a new season. First and foremost, Baker Mayfield is entering the final year of his contract and an extension has not been worked out. Sure, that could motivate Mayfield to put together his best season yet but where do the Buccaneers go from there if he plays himself out of their price range?
The same goes for key pending free agents Cody Mauch and Yaya Diaby, who could be difficult for Tampa Bay to retain after extending Vita Vea. Extending the star defender wasn't a bad decision but it will make keeping other star players harder.
Buccaneers have reached the point where excuses simply won't cut it
Secondly, it's no secret that Bucs fans are underwhelmed by Todd Bowles. He's entering his fifth year as the head coach of the Buccaneers and the team has been pretty stagnant under his tutelage. It definitely feels like this year is put up or shut up time for Bowles.
Another reason to panic -- and something that Bucs fans haven't had to really worry about as much in recent years -- is that the NFC South is improving. Now, let's not kid ourselves and say this is a scary division by any means, but the teams are getting better and will put up more of a fight. In other words, it's not going to be smooth sailing for Tampa against their divisional foes.
With all of this said, it'd make sense if some fans were panicking about the season ahead and the future of this franchise. A team that once seemed like a surefire Super Bowl contender appears to be floating away from that label and, if they miss the playoffs again this year, a rebuild could be on the horizon.
Buccaneers could be nearing the end of their Super Bowl window
The panic meter for the Buccaneers should be somewhere around a six or a seven out of 10. Yes, Bowles is unpopular as a head coach and Mayfield is in the final year of his contract but we've seen what this team can do when everyone is healthy and things are clicking. The division might be better than it has been in years but the Panthers barely won the crown a season ago and the Saints and Falcons still have to prove they can do it consistently.
Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report, however, had the Bucs' panic meter at a nine. Yes, that's right -- A nine! It was the highest of any team in the NFC South. That feels pretty crazy, to be honest.
"Some might already be resigned to the notion the window has closed in Tampa. But for those clinging to hope that Baker Mayfield and Todd Bowles have some sort of run left in them, this is the do-or-die campaign."
He's not wrong there. This does feel like the moment for the Buccaneers to show if they're for real or if they're going to fade into the background in the coming years. With that said, this team has proven they can win the big games in the past. The rest of the division is still unproven and that will be important when the season gets underway.
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