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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter the 2026 season seemingly at a crossroads. Head coach Todd Bowles and perhaps even general manager Jason Licht may need a deep postseason run to save their jobs, while Baker Mayfield will be playing for a new contract, whether in Tampa Bay or elsewhere. What’s more, the veteran signal-caller, who’s resurrected what appeared to be a spiraling career before his arrival in 2023, will have to manage without former No. 1 receiver Mike Evans for the first time in his career.
The Bucs still have plenty of skill-position talent despite the offseason departures of Evans and Rachaad White. Bucky Irving is once again set to helm the ground attack, and Kenneth Gainwell should prove a very adequate replacement for White. Emeka Egbuka is primed to step into the top role at receiver, while veteran Chris Godwin, the promising Jalen McMillan and Cade Otton are also around to offer Mayfield plenty of reliable targets.
There’s more volatility on the other side of the ball, where franchise legend Lavonte David’s retirement headlines an offseason of significant personnel movement. The linebacker corps is nearly completely made over by the additions of rookie first-round pick Rueben Bain and veterans Alex Anzalone and Christian Rozeboom. In contrast, the secondary is replete with incumbents and should benefit from the experience multiple young players garnered last season.
2026 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl Odds
The Buccaneers +5500 Super Bowl winner odds are about where one would expect for a team that missed the postseason in 2025 and lost a franchise legend and No. 1 receiver that’s still arguably within the back end of his prime. As long as Mayfield stays healthy, Tampa Bay should once again field a competent offense despite the loss of Evans, and under Bowles’ oversight, the defense will always be aggressive and at least slightly above-average. However, David’s retirement and Vita Vea’s contract dispute both threaten to be disruptive, and there are many new pieces in the front seven that will need time to acclimate. A loaded NFC would be difficult to crack, to say nothing about toppling the AFC representative in the Super Bowl.
Bet: No
2026 Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFC Championship Odds
As just alluded to above, the Bucs could very well be a solid team that still doesn’t truly come close to measuring up to some of the conference’s heavyweights. The defending champion Seahawks, the loaded Rams, the 49ers, a potentially resurgent Lions squad, the Bears and the Eagles are just some of the squads in front of Tampa Bay in the NFC pecking order. The Bucs’ +2200 odds for NFC winner place them at the top end of the bottom eight, which feels just about right where they should be. Given the multiple contenders in front of them would have to all suffer multiple catastrophic injuries to key players for the Bucs to realistically emerge, this isn’t the most appealing of bets despite the price.
Bet: No
2026 Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFC South Odds
We finally get to a level the Buccaneers could thrive in, that being the perpetually so-so NFC South. There’s certainly talent elsewhere in the division, as all of the reigning champion Panthers, Saints and Falcons have the ability to take a step forward after meaningful offseason additions. However, Mayfield is still arguably the best quarterback in the division, perhaps by a fairly comfortable margin depending on how quickly Tua Tagovailoa can adapt to head coach Kevin Stefanski’s offense (and whether Tua beats out Michael Penix Jr. for the starting job). Tyler Shough will be entering his first full season as starter and could therefore experience some growing pains, while Bryce Young still hasn’t quite clicked on all cylinders despite improvement the last two seasons under head coach Dave Canales. We’re looking at the shortest odds in the market, appropriate slotting for a team of Tampa Bay’s talent level relative to its division foes and one led by a quarterback playing for a long-term deal.
Bet: Yes
2026 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Win Total Odds
The Bucs’ total of 8.5 wins makes for quite the interesting number, considering the team fell just short of the mark last season but also endured multiple multi-week absences by key skill-position players. Despite Evans’ departure, a stroke of better luck on the health front this season could be worth 1-2 additional wins for Mayfield and co. The non-division schedule does have some daunting teams, including the Lions, Bears, Packers, Ravens and Rams. This is the most borderline bet of those covered up to this point, but with better than even money on nine wins or more, it’s a wager worth seriously contemplating, especially considering the Bucs could assert themselves in the division.
Bet: Over
2026 Tampa Bay Buccaneers To Make The Playoffs Odds
This is another intriguing decision when trying to correlate it with the win total bet. Nine wins may or may not be enough to lock up the NFC South after eight got the job done last season, but it’s likelier than not that is a pretty serious outlier that won’t be replicated. As such, it’s conceivable Tampa Bay can get to the nine-win threshold and yet still narrowly miss the postseason in a loaded conference. That would have less chance of happening in a different season, but the depth of the NFC is such this season that I can still see Bowles’ squad on the outside looking in come early January.
Bet: No
2026 Tampa Bay Buccaneers MVP Award Odds & Contenders
- Baker Mayfield
- Bucky Irving
I considered placing Egbuka on the above list as well as a hefty longshot, but the talented receiver will likely have his hands full during his first season as the primary focus of an opposing secondary. Therefore, we land on Mayfield, who, as noted previously, will certainly have some extra incentive given he’s set to play out his contract year. The veteran signal-caller’s next deal is almost certainly due to be his last truly lucrative multi-year pact wherever it comes, so Mayfield, who’s authored a 4,500-yard, 41-touchdown campaign as recently as the 2024 campaign, may put up some stellar numbers. While the offense will be in trouble if Egbuka or Godwin miss any significant time, Mayfield’s +4500 odds and talent make it a bet worth considering.
Meanwhile, Irving is a legitimate two-way threat out of the backfield that could exceed 1,500+ total scrimmage yards and record double-digit touchdowns between his exploits as runner and receiver. White is also no longer around to take away touches on the ground, and Gainwell is likely to be utilized more as a pass-catching back than runner. The one wild card with respect to a potential hit to Irving’s opportunities is high-upside No. 3 back Sean Tucker, but Irving should still maintain clear top billing in the ground game and is back to full health after last season’s myriad of injury issues. Still, it typically takes an otherworldly year for a running back to receive serious MVP consideration, and the likes of Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs and James Cook are all better bets to produce that type of campaign at the position.
Bet: Baker Mayfield
2026 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Schedule
- Week 1 – at Cincinnati, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 2 – vs. Cleveland, 1:00 p.m. – CBS
- Week 3 – vs. Minnesota, 4:05 p.m. – FOX
- Week 4 – vs. Green Bay, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 5 – at Dallas, 8:15 p.m. (TNF) – APVO
- Week 6 – vs. Pittsburgh, 1:00 p.m. – CBS
- Week 7 – at Carolina, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 8 – vs. Atlanta, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 9 – at Chicago, 8:20 p.m. (SNF) – NBC
- Week 10 – BYE
- Week 11 – at Detroit, 1:00 p.m. – CBS
- Week 12 – vs. Carolina, 8:15 p.m. (MNF) – ESPN
- Week 13 – vs. LA Chargers, 1:00 p.m. – CBS
- Week 14 – at Baltimore, 1:00 p.m. – CBS
- Week 15 – vs. New Orleans, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 16 – at Atlanta, TBD
- Week 17 – vs. LA Rams, TBD
- Week 18 – at New Orleans, TBD
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