After Bucs general manager Jason Licht re-signed Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Evans, Pro Bowl quarterback Baker Mayfield and legendary linebacker Lavonte David, while also making a splash signing with Jets strong safety Jordan Whitehead, Bucs fans might be asking, “What’s next?” for Tampa Bay in free agency.
Well, Licht has a plan in mind.
Licht made an appearance on the NFL Network’s show, The NFL Report, to have a conversation with hosts Steve Wyche and James Palmer. While much of the discussion was around Evans still being in his prime, Licht also spoke about potential contract extensions for safety Antoine Winfield and left tackle Tristan Wirfs.
Winfield was franchise tagged before the deadline to ensure that he would be a Buccaneer this season. The All-Pro safety is set to earn $17.123 million in 2024 due to the tag, but the plan was always to just keep him in the building and then get a long-term extension done by the summer.
Wirfs is entering the fifth year of his rookie contract, and in that time he has established himself as arguably the best offensive tackle in football. There’s no way that the Bucs are letting Wirfs walk out the door given what he means to the team. He’s set to earn over $18 million in his fifth-year option, but Tampa Bay wants to get a long-term extension done by the start of the 2024 season.
So, next up for Tampa Bay might not necessarily be adding a new piece to the roster, rather solidifying that two core members of the roster are mainstays for the future.
“I think they’re (both) on their way to possibly having a historic career,” Licht said. “They’ve already had great careers, but historic careers and hopefully the entire time here in Tampa. That’s a very high priority for us right now, number one, Antoine and then in no particular order, then Tristan as well to get them locked up long-term.”
Watch the full episode and interview with Licht on the NFL Report.
Can The Bucs’ Front Office Do It Again?
Though $17.123 million is a nice payout for Antoine Winfield Jr., that’s only for one season, and his stellar play has earned him the right to be the highest-paid safety in the league. Currently, Chargers safety Derwin James earns an average of $19 million per season, and it would be no surprise if Winfield resets the market at $20 million. In a wild turn of events, Winfield did not make the Pro Bowl in 2023, but did earn first-team All-Pro, which is a higher accolade to achieve.
Tristan Wirfs doesn’t seem like he’s in a rush at the moment to get an extension done. He has much bigger things to take care of at the moment, as he and his girlfriend are expecting their first child in late March.
When asked at the end of the season about his contract heading into his fifth year, Wirfs didn’t really know much about it and sounded fine doing whatever was best for the Bucs.
“I’m still learning how that works,” Wirfs said. “So they picked up my fifth year, so I’m still under contract, right? I’m fine with whatever happens. I like being here. I’m not too worried about it. [Iowa] Coach [Kirk] Ferentz always said, ‘Your film is your resumé, so I just try my best to play good football.”
Signing Wirfs to an extension could actually help the Bucs lessen the load on their salary cap for this season as the budget has slimmed down a bit after their other free agency moves. The Bucs could sign Wirfs to an extension to lower his projected $18.244 million cap hit in 2024.
Josh Queipo, Pewter Report’s resident salary cap expert, projects Wirfs will reset the tackle market with a five-year, $135 million deal. That’s $27 million per year, which is more than Houston’s Laremy Tunsil makes at $25 million per year.
It’s puzzling at times why the Bucs front office doesn’t get more recognition for what it has been able to accomplish over the last four seasons in which the team has made the playoffs, whether it’s finding high-profile free agents or keeping the Bucs’ own free agents. Year after year Jason Licht and Co. deliver. An extension for Winfield and Wirfs would be two more incredible moves in an already fantastic offseason in Tampa Bay.
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