The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will look different entering the 2026 season.
While familiar names such as Baker Mayfield, Chris Godwin, and Antoine Winfield Jr. -- all of whom have been named captains -- will return this season, the two longest-tenured veterans, Lavonte David and Mike Evans, are no longer in Tampa Bay.
Evans is continuing his NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers, but the 36-year-old David called it a career after 14 seasons, all spent with the Buccaneers. David ended his career with the third-most games played in franchise history, at 215 games.
David accomplished just about everything as a member of the Buccaneers, winning a Super Bowl, notching a Pro Bowl bid, and posting three All-Pro selections. While David is likely content in retirement,
that hasn't stopped Mayfield from trying to convince his former teammate to come out of retirement, as the star quarterback recently revealed.
"Yeah, talked to Mike a couple times," said Mayfield. "Just random stuff here and there, checking in. Mike will always be a close friend and just somebody that I respect tremendously from afar now. But yeah, hit him up a couple times, and then Lavonte, I have been slowly texting, trying to get him to come out of retirement, see if he wants one last run at it. But I think he’s pretty happy, and his body’s feeling too good to do that."
Even Mayfield knows that it's a long shot that David would come out of retirement. If Buccaneers fans want any hope of a similar situation, Philadelphia Eagles great Brandon Graham came out of a short retirement to play for the team in the middle of the season last year at 37, after less than a year out of the game. Graham appeared in nine games and recently retired for a second time.
Mayfield and the Buccaneers may be hoping for a similar situation this year. Tampa Bay ended last season with a sour taste in their mouths after narrowly missing the postseason. If the Buccaneers field a Super Bowl-caliber team, maybe David will want to suit up for one last run.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Baker Mayfield says he's texted retired star to return to Buccaneers
