4 Bucs players who don't deserve to return next season, and 2 who do

Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. better be back in 2024

Now, let's talk just a little bit about guys the Bucs cannot afford to lose. Antoine Winfield Jr. is one of the better safeties in all of football and is the glue to this defensive unit. Quietly, he is having one of his best seasons yet, already with a career-high 11 passes defensed. He is six tackles away from setting a career-best and 1.5 sacks away from another career-high.

The cornerback position needs help, but Winfield must stick around. Pay the man, period. He deserves it.

Wide receiver Mike Evans deserves to be back in 2024 and beyond

It's safe to say the Bucs might regret not giving Mike Evans a contract offer prior to the start of the season, just as he requested. Instead, Tampa Bay told Evans he can bet on himself, and Evans has taken that offer and ran with it. In a "whave have you done for me lately?" league, Evans could just hand the front office tape of his 75-yard touchdown from this past week with a smile.

Evans is in the midst of yet another 1,000-yard season and his fifth double-digit touchdown campain. The guy is an absolute machine. All he does is perform, and for the Bucs to completely ignore his request for a new deal prior to the season will go down as a colossal mistake. Now, they'll risk seeing him sign with a team like the Chiefs and go on to win a rin while potentially setting the league on fire.