Baker Mayfield came back from his thumb injury, Bucky Irving ran for two touchdowns and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Carolina 43-13 on Oct. 25. At 2-5, the Bucs are still only a game behind the 3-3 Panthers in the NFC South, and that one win changed how the rest of the league is talking about Tampa Bay’s veterans before the deadline.
The deadline is 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 10. Atlanta visits Raymond James Stadium on Nov. 1, and the Bucs play the Bears on Sunday night in Chicago on Nov. 8, per the team’s schedule. Jason Licht has room to work either way, with about $15.2 million in cap space, ninth in the league, per Over the Cap.
What the Bucs need before the deadline
The passing game is the problem. Tampa Bay has 1,053 passing yards, last in the NFL, and only six touchdown passes, 28th, per Pro Football Reference. Mayfield went 7 of 11 for 64 yards and a touchdown in his return because the Bucs didn’t need more than that, running for 258 yards in one of the best rushing performances in team history.
Emeka Egbuka missed the Panthers game with concussion and foot injuries, and right tackle Luke Goedeke sat with a calf injury. The receiver room’s health is a question fans keep asking as the offense tries to find its footing behind Mayfield.
The defense is the reason Tampa Bay isn’t already selling. It ranks third in yards allowed and second against the run, and its 12 takeaways rank third. Yaya Diaby had three of the five sacks in Charlotte, David Walker has four this season and linebacker Josiah Trotter has 62 tackles and a pick-six. “It was our first division game; we’ve got five more to go,” Todd Bowles said, per the team’s website.
Every Bucs trade rumor so far
Vita Vea, DT, Buccaneers (Oct. 22)
Sports Illustrated’s Eva Geitheim made taking calls on Vea the one move Tampa Bay should make, pointing to his summer trade request and the one-year extension that followed it. A day earlier, ESPN’s Dan Graziano called him a “sleeper name” to be moved, per Bleacher Report, with $23 million in salary due to him next season.
Broncos On SI’s Chad Jensen even listed Vea and Irving among Denver’s realistic deadline targets on Oct. 24, at a third-round pick each. Then Vea sacked Bryce Young the next day, and we argued the Bucs should pull Vea and Diaby off the trade block while the division is still within reach.
Kenny Gainwell, RB, Buccaneers (Oct. 21)
FOX Sports’ Greg Auman named Gainwell the Bucs’ top trade candidate in his piece on all 32 teams. He had 122 total yards on 31 touches through six games on a deal paying him $7 million a year, and Auman floated the Eagles, his old team, as the kind of injury-hit contender that could send back a late-round pick.
Gainwell made that harder to sell four days later with 88 yards on 14 carries against Carolina, though he missed the third quarter with a hip injury. With Irving and Sean Tucker both producing, the Bucs can afford to listen.
Chris Godwin Jr., WR, Buccaneers (Oct. 20)
Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame ranked Godwin 15th among 15 players who could be traded and named the Packers and Giants as fits. Godwin has 23 catches for 216 yards through six games, and a new team would owe him a prorated share of his $22 million salary, with a $20.5 million team option for 2027.
Moving a 30-year-old who has spent his whole career in Tampa would be a big step for an offense already short on passing production. Licht’s own track record matters here, and we broke down his history of trade habits before the deadline.
Yaya Diaby, Edge, Buccaneers (Oct. 15)
Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport included Diaby in his projected fire sale for the Bucs, and CBS Sports’ Carter Bahns put him on his list of sellers’ chips on Oct. 13. He is in the final year of his rookie deal, which made him the cheapest pass-rush fix on the market for a contender.
His three-sack game against the Panthers raised his price. Diaby has a 76.0 run-defense grade, according to PFF, and the Bucs would have to replace both his pass rush and his work against the run.
Zyon McCollum, CB, and A’Shawn Robinson, DT, Buccaneers (Oct. 13)
Bahns listed both as possible sells and named the Lions as a buyer who could use McCollum. PFF’s Bradley Locker had McCollum, Robinson and Diaby on his list of 15 candidates back on Oct. 7.
McCollum intercepted Young in Charlotte, and Robinson is part of the run defense that ranks second in the league. Both would leave holes on the defense that is keeping Tampa Bay in the race.
More on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- ESPN Analyst Thinks the Buccaneers Are Back Heading Into a Showdown With the Falcons
- 4 Overreactions to Bucs’ Win Over Panthers in Week 7, Including Sean Tucker Taking Over
- Is Zac Robinson’s Offense Finally Fixed? What the Bucs’ Week 7 Rout of Carolina Told Us
- Four Encouraging Signs and Three Lingering Concerns From the Buccaneers’ 43-13 Rout of Carolina
