Tampa Bay Buccaneers Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

The Buccaneers selected DT Calijah Kancey in Round 1 of the 2023 NFL Draft. Kancey enjoyed a highly productive three years at Pittsburgh. He averaged 0.93 tackles for loss per game for his career; 1.32 per game for his final season. Kancey delivered a 99th-percentile 40 time at the Scouting Combine. He’s minuscule for the position by historical standards, though: 6’1, 281 pounds, with 1st-percentile arm length. We’re not betting against the upside, but those measurements make Kancey risky. Playing next to block-eating DT Vita Vea should help. See where we valued Kancey in our pre-draft IDP rookie rankings.

Per Bob McGinn, formerly of The Athletic, Syracuse RB Sean Tucker was found to have "an ongoing heart issue" when he was evaluated in Indianapolis ahead of the NFL Combine in February. An anonymous executive said, "This sounds like it's not going away ... essentially, he could be done." Tucker didn't participate in drills at the Combine due to an undisclosed medical issue and notably recorded and released his independent pro day video via social media last month. There hasn't been much clarity surrounding the nature of this ailment until recently. We'll see how much validity this report has as time evolves. Tucker is set to hold an official pro day for NFL teams at Syracuse on Monday. Be sure to check back for updates tomorrow, but in the meantime, take a look at our evaluation of the 21-year-old's profile.

The Broncos signed WR Marquez Callaway to a one-year deal. He spent his first two NFL seasons under new Broncos HC Sean Payton in New Orleans, tallying 21-213-0 and 46-698-6 receiving lines. Callaway joins Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, and K.J. Hamler in Denver's WR room. Jeudy and Sutton have been bandied about as trade candidates (although Payton recently shot those rumors down), while Patrick (ACL) and Hamler (pectoral) are rehabbing major injuries. There's a chance that opportunity opens up for Callaway in Denver, although we'd still consider him no more than a last-round flier in best-ball drafts for now.

The Buccaneers have reached a one-year, $8.5 million deal with QB Baker Mayfield, according to multiple reports. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport had previously talked about the Bucs bringing in Mayfield to compete with former second-round pick Kyle Trask for the starting job. We'd bet on Mayfield winning that competition. But the contract shows that they're not banking on him as a starter. Taylor Heinicke, for example, got a two-year contract worth up to $10 million a year from the Falcons. Mayfield played his way out of Carolina after his Cleveland exit. He gained some praise for the brief Rams stint but compiled just 6.6 yards per pass attempt and a 3.1% TD rate there. Mayfield is far from a lock for any meaningful production going forward. But he's interesting as a QB3 pick late in best ball drafts right now, especially when paired with Tampa Bay WRs Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, or Russell Gage. Gage has been going especially late. So you can potentially pair him with Mayfield using just your final two picks. Not much risk at that point.

The Giants have agreed to a one-year deal with WR Sterling Shepard ahead of free agency. Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 in Houston reports that Shepard will make just $1.317 million. That's not enough to guarantee any significant role on offense. Our guess is that Shepard (and his representation) didn't expect to find much of a market. So he elected to stick with the familiar team on a "prove it" deal. He's not more than an end-of-draft flyer for best ball formats at the moment -- and an unexciting option even there.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport says trying to sign QB Baker Mayfield is "certainly going to be a priority" for the Buccaneers in free agency. Rapoport says that would set up a training-camp competition between Mayfield and Kyle Trask, but we'd certainly bet on Mayfield in that scenario. Mayfield is going very late in best ball ADP right now. So go ahead and toss him onto some rosters with WRs Chris Godwin and/or Mike Evans -- and/or Russell Gage. The Gage-Mayfield pairing, in particular, can be had over the final few rounds of your draft. That means very little risk.

Syracuse RB Sean Tucker opted out of NFL Combine participation on Sunday. The speedster weighed in at 5’9 and 207 pounds. We’ll have an opportunity to see him put his skills on display at Syracuse’s pro day scheduled for March 20th. Stay tuned for our Dynasty Fantasy Football Value profile of Tucker coming later this month.

Nebraska WR Trey Palmer led all receivers at the NFL Scouting Combine with a 4.33-second 40-yard dash (officially). Palmer collected just 41 total receptions over his first three college seasons, playing at LSU. He also averaged a mere 11.2 yards per catch. Palmer then snared 71 receptions for 1,043 yards and 9 TDs after transferring to Nebraska for 2022. He also averaged a career-high 14.7 yards per catch, 3.2 ahead of his previous best. NFL.com's Lance Zierlein calls Palmer a "raw" route runner. But the athletic ability of a former five-star recruit clearly remains. We'll have much more on Palmer as part of our upcoming Dynasty Fantasy Football Value series on the entire rookie class.

The Bucs are hiring Dave Canales as their new OC. The 41-year-old has spent the past 13 seasons working under Pete Carroll, first at USC and then with Seattle. Canales most recently served as Seahawks QBs coach, helping QB Geno Smith to a career year. But Canales' only experience as an offensive coordinator came at Carson High School in California in 2004 and 2005. He's a total wild card as we start to project what this Bucs offense will look like in 2023. We're also, of course, still waiting to see what Tampa does at QB. Kyle Trask is the only QB currently on the roster.

The Buccaneers are expected to fire OC Byron Leftwich, according to Pewter Report. Just a year ago, Tampa Bay was coming off 3 straight years among the league's top 3 in scoring and Leftwich was getting interviews for HC gigs elsewhere. But the 2022 Bucs ranked just 25th in points, 15th in yards and 16th in Football Outsiders offensive DVOA (down from 1st in 2021). We'd bet on Leftwich getting an opportunity elsewhere. The Bucs, meanwhile, seem likely to have a QB question to answer, with Tom Brady's contract up.

Update: Greg Auman of FOX Sports reports that HC Todd Bowles says no decision has been made yet on Leftwich's job status.

Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin hauled 10 of 13 targets for 85 yards in Monday's Wild Card loss vs. the Cowboys. Godwin is 1 of 3 Bucs' WRs who received double-digit targets in this contest. WR Julio Jones tallied 7 catches on 11 targets for 77 yards and a TD, and WR Mike Evans roped in 6 of 11 targets for 74 yards of his own. These are pretty eye-popping numbers on the surface, but it's not nearly as impressive considering QB Tom Brady was forced to throw the ball 66 times in the loss. It's difficult at this time to look ahead to the 2023 NFL season for these wideouts given Brady's uncertain future. We'll have a better idea of what to expect from Godwin and Evans once we learn who the Bucs QB is next season.

Buccaneers RB Rachaad White led the team in rushing with 41 yards on 7 attempts in Monday’s Wild Card loss vs. the Cowboys. Teammate RB Leonard Fournette struggled mightily, tallying a mere 11 yards on 5 carries. White added some value as a receiver with 4 catches on 6 targets and 36 yards, whereas Fournette only managed 1 catch for 8 yards. The Cowboys’ defense took the life out of the Bucs’ rushing attack. The combined 52 rushing yards are the lowest total the Buccaneers’ offense has produced since Week 10 vs. the Seahawks in Munich. Looking ahead to 2023, the Buccaneers have an out in Fournette’s contract that would only incur a $1.5 million cap hit if they choose to move on this offseason. Should upcoming free agent QB Tom Brady move onto another team or retire, don’t be surprised to see Fournette hit the free agent market too. There's a window for the rookie White to seize a larger role in the future.

Buccaneers WR Mike Evans (knee) was a full participant at practice on Thursday. The same goes for teammate WR Julio Jones (knee). With their Wild Card game vs. the Cowboys occurring on Monday, we'll have an extra day of practice to follow that bleeds into Saturday. We'll keep our eye out for any updates regarding this duo of Bucs' pass-catchers.

Bucs WR Mike Evans has been ruled out of Sunday's game vs. the Falcons with an illness. He was active but didn't play a snap. Evans should be fine for next weekend's Wild Card game.

Before Sunday, Buccaneers WR Mike Evans hadn't scored a TD since Week 4. Turns out he was just saving them all up for championship week of the fantasy football playoffs. Evans racked up 10 catches for 207 yards and all 3 of Tampa Bay's TDs in the playoff-clinching win over the Panthers. Evans scored from 30, 57 and 63 yards out while setting season highs in all 3 of the aforementioned offensive categories. His performance overshadowed WR Chris Godwin's highly efficient performance: 9-120 on 9 targets. The Buccaneers close out the regular season at Atlanta but might not have much to play for in that one. We'll assess their situation in finalizing our Week 18 fantasy football rankings.

Seahawks S Ryan Neal (knee) is inactive for today's game against the Jets.

Buccaneers S Antoine Winfield Jr. (ankle), S Mike Edwards (hamstring) and CB Jamel Dean (toe) are active for today's game against the Panthers. Each entered the day questionable. The secondary will miss lead corner Carlton Davis, who was doubtful to play.

Buccaneers TE Cade Otton (quadriceps) practiced in full again on Friday and doesn't carry an injury designation for Week 17 vs. the Panthers. At first glance, Otton's 23 targets (8th-highest among TEs) since Week 13 pique some fantasy interest. Digging a little deeper, you'll find the rookie ranks 26th in target share (11.9%) with a mere 9.2% air yards share in that span. Otton is a decent speculative albeit unreliable TE streamer in Week 17 on raw volume alone, but that's about it.

Buccaneers CB Carlton Davis (shoulder) is doubtful for Sunday's game against the Panthers. Fellow CB Jamel Dean (toe) is questionable but finished the week with a full Friday practice after 2 limited workouts. He missed the previous 2 games. S Antoine Winfield Jr. (ankle) and S Mike Edwards (hamstring) are also questionable after going limited all week. Each guy played through the same issue in last Sunday's win over the Cardinals. In Winfield's case, this week's practice run marked an upgrade. He sat out all 3 days last week before playing through a "questionable" tag. We'll update all the questionable CBs when Sunday's inactives arrive.

Buccaneers TE Cade Otton (quadriceps) practice fully on Thursday after being limited on Wednesday. This upward trend bodes well for the rookie's status ahead of Week 17 vs. the Panthers. We'll keep an eye on his status tomorrow in case anything changes.