The Bucs and general manager Jason Licht have shown that have a knack for being able to retain their best players over the years. Of course, they can still hit free agency, but even then, they have a knack for always coming back home in a sense.
The Athletic decided to look ahead to next offseason and two Bucs players were mentioned in their top free agents for the 2026 offseason. Mike Evans and Luke Goedeke came in ranked 12th and 25th respectively and are interesting to thing about hitting the market.
Mike Evans is ranked 12th on their 2026 NFL Free Agent Big Board, as we mentioned. They write, “Evans signed a two-year extension in March 2024. He will turn 32 in August. He remains a matchup nightmare on the outside, and until the production wanes, he is deserving of high placement on this list.”
It is hard to imagine Evans ever leaving Tampa Bay. We have seen how well the team takes care of its legends, and he has very much cemented himself in that mold. He is arguably the greatest player in franchise history, and that is coming from a team with several Hall of Fame players already enshrined in Canton, Ohio.
Luke Goedeke, on the other hand, may find it challenging to keep two franchise tackles while paying other players. Daniel Popper writes, “Goedeke, a 2022 second-round pick, overcomes his lack of length with really impressive patience and timing in pass protection. He has started 30 games at right tackle over the past two seasons after playing primarily left guard as a rookie in 2022.”
No rest for the wicked in the Bucs front office it seems when it comes to an easier workload next offseason.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Which two Bucs are top free agents in the 2026 offseason?