Keep informed with our daily updates: News, notes and more throughout the 2026 Offseason

Scott Smith

May 12 Updates

In March, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers re-signed tight end Cade Otton to a new three-year deal with a significant financial investment, committing to a player who has given the team everything he could over the past four years.

Otton's receiving numbers have not been insignificant; he has 207 receptions for 2,018 yards and 11 touchdowns in four seasons, including back-to-back 59-catch campaigns in 2024 and 2025. Those 118 catches for 1,172 yards the past two years puts him just outside the top 10 in both categories among NFL tight ends. But the Bucs value Otton for a lot more than his pass-catching, and made that clear when they prioritized re-signing him early in the offseason.

"He does a lot for us," said Tight Ends Coach Justin Peelle. "And, yeah, maybe the numbers aren't up there amongst the top ones, but he does a lot of things for us that I think a lot of people don't realize. He's really good in the run game, obviously. We had some injuries, obviously, at the tackle position, so we had to do some different things with him to protect those edges and [he is] an unselfish player. Team leader on this team, does a lot for this team that go unrecognized. And he doesn't say anything about it, either; that's just the guy he is."

Perhaps the most notable numbers defining Otton's career so far come in the participation category. Over the past three seasons, he has led all NFL tight ends in offensive snaps played, with 2,913. Arizona's Trey McBride and Chicago's Cole Kmet are second and third with 2,753 and 2640 snaps, respectively, but they also have played three more games than Otton in that span. In terms of the percentage of offensive snaps played in the games in which he has appeared, no other tight end comes close in that three-year span. Otton is at 94.1% and no other tight end is higher than 85.5%.

And this is where the Bucs might be able to get some of Otton's other numbers up a bit if they can just pull back a bit in the participation category.

"That's something I've actually looked at in the last couple years, is figuring out a way how youI don't want to say 'save' him, but keep him fresh throughout the year," said Peelle. "That's really more on me than anything. I've just got to be able to rotate those guys in.

"But then there are timesI think we were in nine games last year that were decided by three points, or whatever that number was. I have such trust in him. I know he's going to do the right thing. Not that those other guys won't but it's just a security blanket, so to speak. You know he's going to do it right and most of the time he's going to winIf I could get him five or six extra plays off during the game or on the sideline just for a quick breather, over the course of a year that will add up."

To that end, the Buccaneers also re-signed blocking tight end Ko Kieft, drafted LSU pass-catching threat Bauer Sharp in the sixth round and signed Rutgers' Kenny Fletcher Jr. as an undrafted free agent. The Bucs' tight end room also includes 2023 fifth-round pick Payne Durham and 2024 seventh-round pick Devin Culp. It looks like the team could look for some combination of those players to lighten the load just a bit on Otton as he starts his second contract.

for more of Coach Peelle's analysis of the Buccaneers' tight end group.

May 9 Updates

On Saturday, the Buccaneers increased their total of undrafted rookies signed to 15, bringing in Nebraska linebacker Javin Wright. The team also waived first-year running back Michael Wiley with a non-football injury designation.

Wright (6-4, 232) played in 46 games across six seasons at Nebraska, moving into the starting lineup as a senior and leading the team with 86 tackles and nine tackles for loss. He also added 3.0 sacks, one interception and four passes defensed while playing in 12 games and starting 10. Overall, Wright made 13 starts for the Cornhuskers and finished with 180 tackles, 12.0 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and three interceptions.

Wiley first joined the Bucs last October, spending the second half of the season on the team's practice squad before re-signing to a reserve/futures contract in January. He played his college ball at Arizona and originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Commanders in 2024.

to read about the other 14 undrafted players the Bucs have signed.

May 8 Updates

Linebacker Josiah Trotter, the Buccaneers' second-round pick in the 2026 draft, had a unique advantage upon reporting to his new team that very few rookies enjoy. Trotter, as it turns out, already has a close relationship with his position coach, Mike Caldwell.

Trotter already had NFL connections before he landed with the Buccaneers. His father, Jeremiah Trotter, was a linebacker in the league for 11 seasons, earning four Pro Bowl nods and two All-Pro honors while with the Philadelphia Eagles. And during his first four seasons in Philly, the elder Trotter was teammates with Caldwell, another linebacker who logged 11 seasons in the NFL.

Josiah was born in 2005, so he only saw the tail end of his father's playing career, which coincidentally ended with a three-game stint in Tampa in 2007. He was not around yet when his dad and Caldwell ran together for the Eagles from 1998-2001; however, the Caldwell and Trotter families kept in touch after both left Philadelphia in 2002 (Trotter would later return for three more seasons in Philly).

"I know him very well, him and his family," said Josiah of Caldwell. "We've been family friends for a long time, even sharing Thanksgivings together or coming over to watch the Super Bowl, whatever the case was, especially when they were living in New Jersey. But it's really cool, a full-circle moment for me and my dad and my family. It's really cool to be able to have that."

Caldwell will be helping Trotter get acclimated to the NFL and to Todd Bowles' defensive schemes as quickly as possible because the rookie will be competing for a starting job as the "MIKE" linebacker next to free agent acquisition Alex Anzalone. The Bucs still have incumbent starter SirVocea Dennis and also added free agent Christian Rozeboom in the offseason, but getting a potential long-term starter at a position that no longer can rely on Lavonte David was clearly a priority in the draft.

Facing this challenge, Trotter got some advice from his dad before reporting to the Buccaneers for his first onfield work.

"Be myself, have fun, go in there, work hard and just try to learn the playbook as best as you can," said Trotter, echoing his father's words. "Then just go out there, cut it loose and have fun."

for more of Josiah Trotter's thoughts on the first day of work.

April 24 Updates

General Manager Jason Licht and the Buccaneers executed a draft-weekend trade for the first time in three years on Friday night, picking up an extra fifth-round pick for moving down seven spots in the third round.

The deal was with the Green Bay Packers and it occurred just before the Bucs went on the clock for pick number 77 at approximately 10:00 p.m. ET. The Buccaneers agreed to send that pick to the Packers in exchange for pick number 84 and pick number 160 in the fifth round. The Packers used pick number 77 on Missouri defensive tackle Chris McClellan.

The Buccaneers now have six more picks to spend on Friday night and Saturday. They currently own number 84, number 116 in Round Four, numbers 155 and 160 in Round Five, number 195 in Round Six and number 229 in Round Seven.

April 20 Updates

The Buccaneers kicked off their nine-week offseason workout program for 2026 on Monday and Calijah Kancey was in attendance. That makes sense, because more than anything, Kancey plans to be there in the upcoming season.

"My main goal is to play every game," he said on Monday regarding what he'll be focusing on as the work for 2026 begins. "That's my main goal. No stats, no nothing just play every game. Be ready to play every game."

It's easy to understand why this would be Kancey's primary concern. The 19th-overall pick in the 2023 draft, he has shown that level of talent when available, but that availability has been the issue. Three years in, Kancey has yet to play a full 17-game season. He missed three games and large parts of several others due to a training camp calf injury in his rookie campaign. Another calf injury knocked him out for five contests in 2024.

Neither of those issues led to a stay on injured reserve, but that changed last year when, in just the second week of the season, Kancey tore a pectoral muscle, an injury that required surgery. Initially thought to be done for the season, Kancey worked hard to get back on the field in Week 18, helping the Bucs win a must-have contest against the Carolina Panthers. (Perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not, the Bucs won all three games in which Kancey took part.)

As a first-round pick, Kancey's initial NFL contract was four years long, with a team option for a fifth season. He is headed into his fourth season, and the Buccaneers must decide whether or not to pick up his fifth-year option by May 1. Kancey said he hasn't given that issue any thought.

"I'm here to play football," he said. "I wish I had more knowledge on it, but that's not [something] I'm worried about. I know if I go out there and do what I need to do, it will all happen. That's the least of my worries."

Certainly there's good reason for the Bucs to exercise that option, with the hope that Kancey's injury fortune will improve going forward. In his 29 games played, Kancey has recorded 11.5 sacks, 22 tackles for loss and a whopping 30 quarterback hits. In 2024, when he had 7.5 sacks in just 12 games played, Kancey was credited by NFL Next Gen Stats as creating 37 quarterback pressures. Players who can put that type of pressure on a passer from up the middle of the pocket are highly coveted in the NFL.

for a breakdown of the Bucs' 2026 offseason program.