The Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally have a win, but the 24-16 result in Dallas didn’t erase a 1-4 start, and A’Shawn Robinson is the kind of player contenders will call about before the trade deadline on Nov. 10. Head coach Todd Bowles is already working with little margin for error, and he framed the climb plainly after the Cowboys game: “We got one win and we’ve got to get three more to go to try to even this thing up,” he said, per the team’s website.
The money matters as much as the record. Tampa Bay has about $15.3 million in 2026 space but sits roughly $4.9 million over its projected 2027 cap, according to Over the Cap. We already looked at Chris Godwin’s trade case, so here are four defenders worth watching.
A’Shawn Robinson, DT
Robinson signed a one-year, $10 million deal in March and has been the Bucs’ highest-graded defender. He carries an 89.5 overall PFF grade with an 88.8 run-defense grade, though he has just four pressures on 60 pass-rush snaps. The 31-year-old has 16 tackles and one sack through five games.
His role also shrank in Dallas, where he played a season-low 19 of 60 defensive snaps. Over the Cap lists zero dead money in a trade, which makes Robinson the cleanest rental on the roster for a run-defense-needy contender.
Yaya Diaby, OLB
Diaby posted 7.0 sacks in 2025 and 4.5 in 2024, but he has none through five games this season. He has a 50.6 PFF pass-rush grade with seven pressures through four games, and his lone highlight came on a tipped-ball interception against the Cowboys.
The 2023 third-round pick is in the final year of his rookie deal, with a $3.92 million cap hit before he hits unrestricted free agency in 2027. If Tampa Bay isn’t planning to pay him, his track record could still draw a mid-round pick.
Zyon McCollum, CB
(Eamon Horwedel-Imagn Images)
McCollum is the complicated one. He is in the first year of a three-year, $48 million extension, and a trade now would leave $16.1 million in dead money, $3.65 million this year and $12.45 million in 2027, per Over the Cap.
The play is mixed, too. He has six passes defensed and spent much of Thursday night on CeeDee Lamb, but his PFF coverage grade sat at 58.3 through four games. Moving him would trim his $19.06 million 2027 cap number, which is exactly where Tampa Bay is short.
Alex Anzalone, LB
Anzalone sealed the Dallas win with his first interception as a Buccaneer, and rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels noticed. “Alex Anzalone, being able to get that game-winning interception, I appreciate those guys,” Daniels said after the Thursday win.
The 32-year-old signed a two-year, $17 million deal in March and has 27 tackles, a sack and that interception. He carries a $9 million cap hit and no trade dead money in either year, and Josiah Trotter has already shown he can handle a full workload. That makes the veteran easier to move than his play might suggest.
Pittsburgh comes to Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, and the next few weeks will decide which way Jason Licht leans. Tampa Bay can keep chasing a crowded NFC South or get ahead of its 2027 math before Nov. 10.
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