The battle at quarterback in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 2023 training camp could have only one winner when it came to the starting lineup, but at least there were multiple spots available on the 53-man roster. Veteran free agent addition Baker Mayfield won that battle, but third-year man Kyle Trask stayed on as Mayfield’s primary backup.
Chase McLaughlin and Rodrigo Blankenship had no such safety net when they went head to head to fill the Bucs’ vacancy at placekicker. McLaughlin signed with Tampa Bay in March as the presumptive replacement for Ryan Succop, but the team also added Blankenship midway through June to create a camp competition. Coincidentally, McLaughlin and Blankenship had previously been competing teammates with the Colts.
McLaughlin never wavered and the Bucs confirmed him as their choice for 2023 when they released Blankenship between the second and third preseason games in August. McLaughlin proceeded to have a remarkable season, the best of his career to date, but since his original deal with the Buccaneers was for just one year, he is eligible to hit free agency again in March.
McLaughlin is one of 18 players from Tampa Bay’s 2023 roster in that position, and it’s not likely the team will be able to retain all of them for the 2024 season. Priorities on that list will be set and the Bucs will do their best to keep as much proven talent in the building as possible. And so, in the weeks leading up to the start of the new league year, we are going to look at 10 players who are currently poised to become unrestricted free agents in mid-March. This is the full schedule of our 2024 Free Agent Focus rundown:
- February 14: QB Baker Mayfield
- February 16: S Antoine Winfield Jr.
- February 21: RB Chase Edmonds
- February 23: K Chase McLaughlin
- February 28: WR Mike Evans
- March 1: DL Will Gholston
- March 5: G Aaron Stinnie
- March 6: LB Devin White
- March 7: WR David Moore
- March 8: LB Lavonte David
This list is subject to change based on potential roster moves in the coming weeks. However, we will continue today with the team’s leading scorer in 2023 who is coming off a record-setting season.
Age at the Start of the 2024 Season: 28
Experience: Entering sixth NFL season
How Acquired: Signed a one-year contract as an unrestricted free agent on March 30, 2023.
Previous Contract(s): An undrafted free agent in 2019, McLaughlin first signed a three-year deal with the Bills…
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