The Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished the first wave of free agency with little money to spend. The weird part is that the team has been spending a lot of the last week creating tons of cash. Some might be asking why, and why now?
We know that quarterback Baker Mayfield, wide receiver Mike Evans, and safety Antoine Winfield have all restructured their deals. In doing so, the team has opened up...well, that depends on whom you trust.
Mayfield's restructure converted $30 million to a roster bonus which took his base salary down to $2 million. The move saved the Bucs $14 million in cap space.
What is the current cap space for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?
Evans' contract was restructured, according to Houston's KPRC TV Aaron Wilson, in a way that saves the Bucs $15.3 million. He is entering the last year of his current deal.
Winfield's restructuring involved his $21 million base salary moving down to the minimum salary, while the rest was converted to a roster bonus. This saved Tampa Bay $15.86 million. In other words, all three restructures have collectively saved the Bucs $45.16 million.
So, how much cap room do the Buccaneers have now? Let's try doing the math. According to Over the Cap, the Bucs currently have $16,540,629 in cap room. That number incorporates the Winfield restructuring, but not Evans or Mayfield. Assuming all the numbers are correct, Tampa Bay should now have around $45.8 million to spend.
Some of that will have to go to draft picks and filling out the practice squad, but that is only a drop in the proverbial bucket compared to what the Bucs would have. The number above would also mean Tampa Bay currently has the third-most cap room in the league. Again, that is assuming all the numbers are factual.
But why create all this room now? Would it not have been wiser to do the restructures before free agency hit? Is there a free agent or three remaining that the Buccaneers want to chase? If so, the Bucs could be extremely active in snapping up players over the next few weeks.
Or maybe Tampa Bay is thinking about what happens in 2026 when the cap room can roll over. Mayfield's current deal is up the season after next, and maybe the team is thinking of working an extension with him and needs to free up money to do so. What is clear is that after all the restructures, the Buccaneers can do almost anything they want.
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