Will Crucial Buccaneers Depth Defender Return to Team in 2026?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have some big free agency decisions to make in 2026. They have 16 unrestricted free agents, three restricted free agents and a club option on one player, so they'll have to figure out exactly who they'll bring back and who they are willing to let walk in free agency.

Jason Licht has his hands full, and it will be interesting to see how he navigates this offseason. For the next two weeks, we're going to look at some of Tampa Bay's most consequential free agents. We'll give you the pros and cons of each potential re-signing, and then we'll deliver the verdict on whether or not we think the Bucs should bring back that player in 2026.

Christian Izien has been a valuable jack-of-all-trades for head coach Todd Bowles and the Buccaneers defense, filling in as depth whenever a very injured secondary would start getting thin. He's a restricted rights free agent this upcoming offseason, and the Buccaneers have a decision to make when it comes to his services. We'll go into that down below:

Pros to re-signing Izien

The first bit of good news is that Izien is a restricted rights free agent. This means that other teams can offer him deals in free agency, but the Buccaneers can choose to match that deal to retain him. It offers a lot of flexibility for the Bucs to keep Izien onboard if they would like.

Izien has been very valuable filling in for injured players, playing safety, nickel corner and even outside corner in his last two years in the NFL. Additionally, he has a lot of value on special teams, playing 40.32% of snaps in 2025. A football player who can play anywhere he's asked to go, Izien is a crucial depth option for the Buccaneers and knows Todd Bowles' defense well enough to be a great safety blanket if injuries continue to pop up on the team.

Cons to re-signing Izien

Izien was relegated to a mostly special teams role in 2025, though, limiting his usefulness as a depth player. If he wants a bigger role and wishes to play defense elsewhere, he'd likely want to leave. He doesn't have much of a choice as a restricted free agent, but Over the Cap projects his new contract as being worth $1,430,000 — that money could be spent elsewhere to improve the defense, so if another team makes a high offer, Tampa Bay is likely out.

Izien is a safety by trade. With Tykee Smith moving to that position full time and Jacob Parrish shining at nickel, the position he played two years ago, Izien has been pushed considerably down the depth chart and might not be worth putting too much money into.

The verdict

The Bucs can choose to bring Izien back if they would like, but given how he was used last year and a likely desire on his end to get more playing time, a fresh start would probably benefit both sides here. If no other team makes an offer, it might be worth bringing Izien back, but otherwise, his time is likely done in Tampa Bay.

Stick with BucsGameday for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the 2025 season.

Follow BucsGameday on Twitter and Facebook

More Tampa Bay Buccaneers News

• NFL Veteran Raves About New Bucs Hire and Why It Is Great News for Baker Mayfield

• Bucs Teammate Claims Defensive Players Have a Vendetta Against Baker Mayfield

• Buccaneers Linked to Surprise Trade for Former First-Round Packers Pass Rusher

• 3 Reasons Why the Buccaneers Will Re-Sign Mike Evans