Tampa Bay enters 2026 with a significantly deeper group surrounding Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey. The Bucs added veterans A’Shawn Robinson and Rakeem Nuñez-Roches in free agency while retaining second-year players Elijah Roberts and Elijah Simmons and drafting DeMonte Capehart. All seven made the initial 53-man roster.
The projected starting trio of Kancey, Vea, and Robinson gives Todd Bowles three very different players to work with. Vea remains the massive presence in the middle after a one-year, $30 million extension; Kancey provides the interior pass rush, and Robinson brings another 320-pound defender capable of holding up against the run. The biggest question may simply be health. Kancey has 11.5 sacks and 30 quarterback hits in 29 career
games but has yet to play a full season. He appeared in only three games last year because of a torn pectoral muscle. The depth behind the starters should allow Bowles to rotate more freely than he could a year ago. Roberts already has significant NFL experience after playing 507 snaps as a rookie, while Nuñez-Roches gives Tampa Bay another veteran option inside. Capehart and Simmons round out a group that should be able to keep its starters fresher throughout games.
Starter to watch: Vita Vea
Even with all the new pieces, everything still starts with Vea. The two-time Pro Bowler remains one of the NFL's most difficult interior defenders to move and is coming off a 2025 season in which he recorded 4.5 sacks while helping Tampa Bay finish fifth against the run. He also played a career-high 73% of the defensive snaps despite dealing with a foot issue. With Tampa Bay recently extending Vea, there is little question about how the organization values him. The difference this season is that the Bucs may not need to lean on him quite as heavily. More depth could allow Vea to remain fresher while still being the centerpiece of Bowles' front.
Rising star: Elijah Roberts
Roberts quietly became one of Tampa Bay's most important young defenders last season after Kancey's injury forced him into an expanded role. The 2025 fifth-round pick responded by playing 507 snaps as a rookie and showing enough versatility to contribute both against the run and as a pass rusher. That experience appears to have carried over into his second season. Roberts flashed again in the preseason opener against the Jets, recording a sack and a tackle for loss while displaying the combination of quickness, power, and hand usage that made him intriguing coming out of SMU. He may not enter Week 1 as a starter, but his role shouldn't be overlooked. Kancey's injury history makes having another disruptive interior option particularly important, and Roberts has already shown he can handle significant snaps if needed.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Buccaneers position preview: Defensive line
