INDIANAPOLIS — At first glance, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers look flush with salary cap space — nearly $49 million below the recently announced total of $255.4 million.
But with the potential of five key players, including Pro Bowl quarterback Baker Mayfield and star wide receiver Mike Evans, becoming free agents on March 13, general manager Jason Licht is racing against time to pinch pennies.
“We're focused on signing our own right now,” Licht said Tuesday as the NFL's annual scouting combine kicked off in Indianapolis. “If we can re-sign Mike and Baker and Lavonte (David) and Antoine (Winfield Jr.) and Tristan (Wirfs), I mean we should be throwing another boat parade. That's a pretty good (free agent) class there.”
Spotrac projects the annual average market value for the trio of Mayfield, Evans, and Winfield, an All-Pro safety, to be $69.3 million. It does not project contract values for David, a linebacker, Chase Edmonds, a running back, or Wirfs, the left tackle who is scheduled to play on his fifth-year option this fall.
While Licht would like to keep them all, it's still going to be a challenge.
One possibility could be releasing 31-year-old linebacker Shaquil Barrett, a two-time Super Bowl champion, to avoid paying him a $15.04 million option bonus next month. The Bucs could designate Barrett a post-June 1 cut, saving them about $5 million on this year’s cap while pushing $17.4 million in dead cap charges to 2025.
It's not the move they want to make.
“From a business side, in order for us to get better and bring in new talent and upgrade the team, we have to get some of these things done, and they’re hard decisions,” coach Todd Bowles said on NFL Network's “Good Morning Football.”
“Shaq has been great for us over the past five years. He came in, (and) he made a heck of a name for himself. He’s one of the best human beings you could ever meet.”
