3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers who won’t be back in 2025 after upset playoff loss

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers looked like a legitimate dark horse to make some noise in the 2024 NFL playoffs. They finished the regular season winners in six of their last seven games and won the NFC South, earning a home game in the Wild Card Round against a Washington Commanders team with a rookie quarterback starting.

Unfortunately, Washington's last-second field goal didn't doink in the way Buccaneers fans would have hoped, and Tampa's strong season came to a heart-breaking finish. Their focus now turns to an important offseason where Jason Licht and Co. will try and make a solid roster into a Super Bowl contender.

With that in mind, these three Buccaneers players almost certainly won't be back when Tampa Bay takes the field in 2025.

3) Chase Edmonds won't be back with the Buccaneers in 2025

Chase Edmonds signed a one-year deal worth $1.25 million to return to the Buccaneers last offseason, looking to earn an opportunity to compete for touches. By the time the preseason was set to begin, Edmonds seemingly had an opportunity to compete for touches with rookie back Bucky Irving. Unfortunately, Edmonds never made things interesting in that regard.

The 28-year-old suffered a season-ending knee injury before the year truly began, putting Edmonds' future into question. His future in Tampa Bay appears to be even more in doubt as Irving established himself as Tampa Bay's running back of the future, and the team still has Rachaad White and Sean Tucker under contract.

Could the Buccaneers bring Edmonds back as additional depth? Absolutely, but they won't rush to do that, and Edmonds will probably look elsewhere in search of more of an opportunity.

2) Joe Tryon-Shoyinka didn't do enough to earn a new contract with the Buccaneers

When the Buccaneers selected Joe Tryon-Shoyinka with the last pick of the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, he was expected to play a big role on Tampa Bay's defensive line for years to come. Unfortunately, he never lived up to his draft placement, and this past season was the worst of them all.

Tryon-Shoyinka appeared in 15 games (11 starts) but recorded just two sacks, 24 tackles, and four QB hits. He set career lows in all three of those major statistics. Sure, he missed a couple of games, but there's no excuse for that kind of lackluster production in 15 appearances.

The Buccaneers already declined his fifth-year option ahead of the season due to his lack of production. His production only declined in 2024. The Buccaneers can bring him back on a prove-it kind of deal in 2025, but at this point, a fresh start might be in the best interest of both sides. The Bucs need to improve their pass rush, and Tryon-Shoyinka has to think he can do better elsewhere.

1) The Buccaneers have no need to overpay Chris Godwin

Chris Godwin is easily the biggest name on this list, and could be the only player on this list that the Bucs want to bring back. Bringing him back isn't as much of a necessity as once thought, though.

When Godwin suffered his season-ending injury midway through the season, there was reason to believe that would have been a season-ender for the Bucs as well. While the team undoubtedly missed him, their offense still thrived without him, averaging 29.3 points per game in the 10 games he missed. Baker Mayfield still looked like a star, Mike Evans had another 1,000-yard season, and Jalen McMillan impressed in his rookie year.

The Buccaneers should want to bring Godwin back, but the 28-year-old is going to want to cash in as a free agent. He was having arguably his best season prior to suffering the season-ending injury, after all.

The question is, though, should the Buccaneers outbid the field for his services when he's coming off a major ankle injury, the offense looked just fine without him, and the Bucs have other needs with limited cap space? The answer very well could be yes, but will Jason Licht agree? Barring Godwin taking less than what Tampa probably should offer him, the answer is probably no. It'd be a dream to have Godwin back with Evans, McMillan, Irving, and offensive coordinator Liam Coen, but it remains to be seen if that dream will become reality.