The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were more aggressive in free agency this offseason than in recent years, in terms of bringing in new players from other teams. And the majority of their work involved restocking a defense, in particular the defensive front, after a 2025 season in which the team's rankings dropped to 20th in points allowed, 19th in yards allowed and 24th in sack percentage. The Bucs' first two picks in the draft, and four of their first five, were also devoted to that side of the ball, and the projected starting lineup has as many as five new starters.
But there were a couple surgical strikes on offense as well during the offseason, and quarterback Baker Mayfield thinks they could make a big difference for his crew. The team signed former Eagles and Steelers running back Kenny Gainwell at the beginning of free agency and then used a third-round pick on Georgia State wide receiver Ted Hurst III.
Gainwell's game has been compared to that of Bucky Irving, the Buccaneers' leading rusher the past two seasons. The Bucs actually valued that redundancy when purveying the free agency market for backfield help, reasoning that if either player was forced to miss time the Bucs' could still run the same offense through the other one. And, in fact, Gainwell has been getting a lot of reps in offseason workouts, including the first day of minicamp on Tuesday, with Irving being eased back into action after shoulder surgery. Mayfield, who already had an appreciation for Gainwell's game, has been impressed with what he has seen.
"Ken has been doing great," said the ninth-year quarterback. "He's somebody that I've respected from afar when he was Philly and the Steelers. You can tell he's a sharp kid who's always been able to do pass protection stuff. He was doing that in Philly from a very early on in his career point, and then in Pittsburgh he actually balled out. Now to have him here, we're lucky because he's extremely sharp, a great leader, can do everything you ask for. Obviously with Bucky coming back slowly it's good to have those guys, and obviously the running back room still having Tuck in there as well.
Gainwell averaged around 500 yards from scrimmage per season in four years with the Eagles, then signed with the Steelers last year and found himself in an expanded role as a complement to Jaylen Warren. Gainwell topped 1,000 yards from scrimmage in 2025 and notably hauled in 73 passes after his previous career high was 33. Gainwell could easily pick up the 45 targets that went to Rachaad White last year, with White now in Washington.
And while no one expects Hurst to fully replace the contributions of Mike Evans, now a 49er, he certainly could be part of the many-pronged approach to picking up Evans' targets. Hurst profiles as a prototypical 'X' receiver, which is the position in which Evans dominated for so many years, and he had a prolific final two seasons at Georgia State.
"I really like Ted's game," said Mayfield. "He's a bigger-bodied receiver. Exceptional hands. I think his body control, he can really cover a lot of ground. For a big guy, he can cover a lot of ground. He should be a weapon for us, he should be able to help us out. For him, it's the normal rookie stuff, learning the offense, formations, to where it's not having to think the whole time. It's more second nature. That goes with it the whole time. He'll get better each day and continue to grasp it and help us out."
Head Coach Todd Bowles agrees that Hurst is still traversing the early part of his NFL learning curve but has been impressed by his mental approach and thinks that will pay dividends for the Bucs' offense early.
"That's a work in progress right now," said Bowles of the rookie pass-catcher. "He's a very bright guy, but every rookie's got some learning to do, and that will progress through the preseason and probably through the regular season as well, but I do see him helping us right away."
