​The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have significant work ahead as they head into 2026. After finishing last season 2-7 and failing to claim the NFC South or a playoff berth, the franchise now carries the burden of proving that their late-season collapse was an aberration and that they can mount a genuine postseason run in 2026. Until they demonstrate that capability, doubters will remain, casting the Bucs as an unreliable team whose disappointing finish could spill over into the new season.
Among those skeptical voices is Frank Schwab of Yahoo! Sports. In his latest offseason power rankings, Schwab places Tampa Bay 22nd in the league. He contends that the Buccaneers’ 2025 collapse stands among the worst in recent memory and questions whether that downturn influenced free-agent decisions, including wide receiver Mike Evans’s departure to the San Francisco 49ers. Schwab notes that Tampa Bay’s slide was severe: the team dropped seven of its first eight games after the bye week, with a pivotal moment occurring on a Thursday night loss to the Falcons, when the Buccaneers surrendered a 14-point fourth-quarter lead. The losing streak culminated in a disastrous defeat that essentially derailed their season, as Atlanta secured the division title with an 8-9 record due to a three-team tiebreaker, despite Tampa Bay’s regular-season finale win over Carolina.
Schwab points to Evans’s exit as a potential symptom of the drift surrounding the franchise, suggesting that the decision to leave for San Francisco may have been influenced by head coach Todd Bowles’s tenure, which persisted despite the team’s subpar division finish. Even with his ranking of 22nd, Schwab concedes that Tampa Bay possesses substantial blue-chip talent on its roster. Yet he remains unconvinced that the Buccaneers will maximize that talent in the upcoming season. “If we could trust the Buccaneers to play to their talent level, they would rank higher on this list,” he writes. He notes that the team plays in the NFC South—a division that in 2025 became one of the five in NFL history to send a losing club to the playoffs—yet argues that the Buccaneers should dominate the division and pose a postseason threat if they reach their ceiling. Nevertheless, given last season’s collapse, Schwab finds it difficult to rely on the organization to translate talent into consistent, high-level performance.
Beyond talent evaluation, Schwab highlights other factors shaping his ranking. He assigns Tampa a C+ for the offseason, citing the departures of Evans and cornerback Jamel Dean, the retirement of linebacker Lavonte David, and the challenge of replenishing those losses with another group that can sustain competitive play. He also contemplates whether running back Bucky Irving can recapture the explosiveness he displayed as a rookie in 2024, noting Bowles’s earlier comments about Irving’s health as not particularly encouraging. Together, these elements contribute to Schwab’s cautious stance on Tampa Bay’s immediate trajectory.
The conversation around the Buccaneers’ future is rich with nuance. On one hand, the franchise retains a foundation of proven players and physical talent that suggests a potential to rebound quickly. On the other hand, the steps necessary to restore confidence and consistency—coaching clarity, roster depth, and injury resilience—are nontrivial. The 2026 season looms as a critical test for the Buccaneers’ ability to translate a talent-rich roster into sustained success, reasserting their status as a legitimate playoff contender rather than a team other clubs view with skepticism. As the new season approaches, the questions persist: can Tampa Bay reclaim its form, and will the rest of the league buy back into believing in the Buccaneers’ long-term viability?