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The Buccaneers have found a way to keep their team together, retaining key free agents who could have gone anywhere they wanted.

First, it was future Hall of Fame receiver Mike Evans. Next, it was former No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield, who has gone through plenty of adversity en route to a $100 million deal.

During the press conference announcing Mayfield’s new three-year deal to stay put with the Bucs, G.M. Jason Licht was asked what Mayfield’s toughness means to the team.

“Well, it means everything,” Licht said. “He sets the tone for this team with his — well, for lack of a better word — probably one out of 10, he’s a 10 on the ‘prick’ scale. Sorry, Nelson [Luis, director of P.R.]. That’s what you want in your offensive linemen. Baker is kind of an offensive lineman in a quarterback’s body. It’s what has rallied this team this year. He’s a big part of it.”

Mayfield viewed it as the compliment it is. “Thank you, I’ll take that,” Mayfield said after he got his Madden rating on the “prick” scale.

That is his mentality. It’s part of a natural charisma that has been honed and focused through maturity. When he was younger, there were times when that 10 of 10 on the “prick” meter created issues. Now that he has matured, it’s a gift that makes him a true and effective leader.

Every starting NFL quarterback is, by definition, a leader. Some lead without trying. Some can’t lead, no matter how hard they try. (As one coach has observed about one other current NFL starting quarterback — both will remain nameless — “he couldn’t lead a lion to eat red meat.”)

Mayfield could get a squirrel to attack an elephant. And the squirrel would believe it can win. And I wouldn’t bet against that squirrel.

That’s what Mayfield brings to the table. Everyone but the Buccaneers missed it last year, when Mayfield signed a one-year, bargain-basement deal with the Bucs. Everyone missed it again this year, when no one else made the kind of offer that Mayfield wouldn’t have refused.

And so, at a time when the Falcons are paying Kirk Cousins $45 million per year on a four-year deal, the Bucs are getting a relative bargain on a contract that pays out $33.3 million over three. That’s nearly $12 million per year that can go elsewhere, in an effort to give Mayfield more guys much larger than squirrels whom he’ll be encouraging to go attack other guys much smaller than elephants.

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Safety Jordan Whitehead is returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after agreeing to a two-year, $9 million contract, his agent, Sunny Shah, told ESPN on Wednesday.

The deal could be worth up to $10.5 million, Shah told ESPN's Jenna Laine.

Whitehead, 27, was a starter on the Buccaneers' Super Bowl team in the 2020 season, spending four years in Tampa Bay before joining the New York Jets in free agency after the 2021 season.

The Buccaneers coaching staff and front office were high on Whitehead, but the team was in a bind financially after supporting two years of Tom Brady Super Bowl runs, which is why they let him go in free agency.

Whitehead started every game for the Jets over the past two seasons and rarely came off the field. He is known for being a "box" safety but played over 800 snaps last season as a deep safety and is an exceptionally hard hitter. He can play both high and low and has worked hard throughout his career to demonstrate his coverage ability.

Whitehead played the game of his life in the 2023 opener, intercepting Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen three times in the Jets' overtime win on "Monday Night Football." Whitehead's performance was overshadowed after quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a season-ending Achilles injury early in that game.

Whitehead finished the season with four interceptions, a career high, and nine passes defended, which tied a career high. He also made 97 tackles. He allowed six touchdown passes as the nearest defender, tied for the second most among safeties, according to Next Gen Stats. That number could be misleading, though, because the Jets played predominantly zone coverage.

A starter for six seasons, Whitehead has 11 career interceptions.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Rich Cimini contributed to this report.

Lavonte David, one of the greatest players in Tampa Bay Buccaneers franchise history, is staying in the red and pewter.

On Tuesday, David and the Buccaneers reached agreement on a one-year contract that keeps the prolific linebacker in Tampa for at least a 13th season. This is the second offseason in a row that David has agreed to a new deal with the only NFL team he has known after he played the 2021-22 seasons on a two-year pact.

David, a 2012 second-round pick who has been voted a team captain in each of his past 10 seasons, was a key figure in the Buccaneers capturing their third straight NFC South title in 2023. He led the team with 134 tackles, his highest total since his 2015 Pro Bowl campaign, and added 4.5 sacks, his most in a season since 2016. David also paced the Buccaneers and tied for seventh in the NFL with 17 tackles for loss while contributing five quarterback hits, five passes defensed and a forced fumble. David continued his strong play in the postseason, topping the Bucs' list with 18 tackles and adding a sack, a quarterback hit and a forced fumble.

David started all 15 games in which he played in 2023, missing two contests due to a groin injury. He was a key figure on a defense that tied for sixth in the league in points allowed (19.1 per game) and allowed the fifth fewest rushing yards (95.3 per game).

Overall, David has played in 181 regular season games, starting all of them, and has amassed 1,477 tackles, 33.5 sacks, 160 tackles for loss, 28 forced fumbles, 18 fumble recoveries, 12 interceptions and 64 passes defensed. He is the franchise's all-time leader in fumble recoveries and ranks second in tackles, fifth in games played, fourth in games started and eighth in sacks. If he plays at least 10 games in 2024 he will move into third place in Bucs annals in games and starts, trailing only Hall of Famers Rondé Barber and Derrick Brooks.

Even before his age-defying 2023 campaign, David had already placed himself in elite company among all-time NFL defenders. Through his first 11 seasons he had joined London Fletcher, Ray Lewis, Bobby Wagner and Junior Seau as the only players in league annals to record 1,300-plus tackles, 25-plus sacks and 10-plus interceptions through their first 11 seasons.

David currently ranks first among all active NFL players in solo tackles (1,033) and fumble recoveries and is second in total tackles, forced fumbles and passes defensed by a linebacker. He ranks fourth among active players in tackles for loss and interceptions by a linebacker.

The contract agreement with David continues a strong effort by the Buccaneers prior to the start of free agency to keep the core intact of a team that has won three straight division titles. Tampa Bay has also re-signed five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Evans, reached contract agreement with Pro Bowl quarterback Baker Mayfield and retained All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. on the franchise tag.

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TAMPA, Fla. - Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield said Wednesday that a key reason he emerged from "dark times" in 2022 - when he bounced around four different NFL teams after being a first overall draft pick in 2018 - was because the Bucs "let me be the best version of myself" and because he "had fun playing football again."

Mayfield, 28, also said he didn't know if he and the Bucs would ultimately strike a deal before the start of free agency, which kicked off Monday at noon with the NFL's negotiation window, which would allow the Bucs to talk to other quarterbacks and allow other teams to enter the picture. He wound up signing a three-year contract with the Bucs worth $100 million and up to $115 million on Sunday.

"There were times that the couple days prior we didn't know if we were going to get it done before free agency hit. So it was a lot of ups and downs," said Mayfield, who said he had to start considering what Plan B might look like if things fell through.

"Unfortunately I had to think about that. I had to think about the fact that we would be here for the birth of our daughter before we even move," said Mayfield, whose wife Emily is due to have their first child next month. "We wanted to be back, but if it wasn't going to be the right fit for us, we were going to let God take control again and that was the big thing. We tried to be as patient as we could. I would be lying if I said we were happy the whole time, but it worked out how it's supposed to..."

The catalyst was Mayfield texting general manager Jason Licht while he was at lunch at the Salt Shack in Tampa with his wife Emily, left tackle Tristan Wirfs and Wirf's girlfriend Meredith, who like the Mayfields, are also expecting their first child at the end of March. He said, "Are we gonna get this thing done or what?"

Licht was in his office with assistant general manager Mike Greenberg and vice president of football research Jacqueline Davidson - coincidentally finishing up their lunches - and they sprang into action immediately to lock in one of the NFL's best comeback stories of 2023 for another chapter.

"He had us circled as the best place to go and we had him circled as the best player to come and follow the legend, Tom Brady," Licht said. "Not many quarterbacks would have the confidence to do that, but Baker certainly did. We love his leadership - we love his ability on the field - but his leadership, his ability to rally the team, the city, the fanbase has been surreal."

As the deal was finalized shortly after, Mayfield and his group celebrated while news flashed across the bottom ticker of a nearby television screen. There were text messages to center Robert Hainsey and right tackle Luke Goedeke, whom Mayfield says became some of his closest friends. They were soon joined by new offensive coordinator Liam Coen and assistant offensive line coach Brian Picucci. And he made a phone call to wide receiver Mike Evans.

"I called him and just said, 'Well, I guess we're getting the band back together," Mayfield said. "How close I became with these guys, it became a huge factor in the decision. Knowing that I'm going to fight for them and they're going to fight for me. That's a big thing for us. It's a great group."

With little money in the wake of a three-year Brady run last year - including Brady counting $35 million against the salary cap last season - the Bucs signed Mayfield to a one-year deal worth $4 million in which he had to compete with Kyle Trask for a starting job. At that point, Mayfield had been traded away by the Cleveland Browns, cut by the Carolina Panthers after going 1-5 as a starter, and he had a five-game stint with the Los Angeles Rams. But it was enough for coach Todd Bowles, who grew fond of Mayfield during the pre-draft evaluation process when he was with the New York Jets in 2018. He was also Licht's top quarterback on the Bucs' draft board that year.

"We go back some ways. So we kinda talked after we played each other, each time we played each other," said Bowles, who credited Mayfield's mental toughness for his resurgence. "For a quarterback - there are very few great ones that's not in the right system. You can be a good quarterback and be in the wrong system, and some get thrown by the wayside and some happen to find their niche. I think Baker found his niche and we found out what worked well for and we kinda played to those strengths. I think that every team that has a great quarterback plays to those strengths and he found his."

Mayfield led the Bucs to a 9-8 record season record, an NFL South title and a 32-9 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. His 106.3 postseason passer rating in two playoff games set a new franchise postseason record, and his 3.0 postseason touchdown-interception ratio also matched Brady's during his Buccaneers tenure. He also went to the Pro Bowl as an alternate.

Mayfield said that year of adversity was a "true test of character."

"My journey has not been the one that I exactly envisioned - a lot of ups and downs - but just trusting it." Mayfield said. "For me, trying to relate it to some of the things I did - from high school [and] having to walk on, to college [and] having to battle for a job, losing a job in Cleveland, going to Carolina, having to move to L.A. [With] all of those things, you realize mental toughness can take you a long way. Trusting in yourself and believing in yourself and having that confidence and trusting in God that you have everything you're capable of and you have it all right there available for you, so just go do that and be the best version of yourself. For me, this was a good place that has already shown me that I can do that."

When asked about other quarterbacks who will now try to reignite their careers, looking to him as a source of inspiration the way Geno Smith was for others in 2022, Mayfield said that it was all about finding the right opportunity. He simply needed to be in a stable organization that let him be himself, from the way he led to the way he played. Rather than display Brady's finesse in the pocket, he'd leave it quickly -- lowering his helmet and barreling towards defenders for a first down, which often ignited the Bucs' sideline.

"I keep mentioning to be the 'best version of myself' and that means a lot," Mayfield said. "So -- it is a tricky business. There's injuries, there's a lot of things that can happen to you in your career. Self-inflicted ones too. And I've gone through both of those. And so for me it's a good opportunity to be able to [say], 'There's light at the end of the tunnel.'

"And not to say that I'm satisfied by any means, but you can push through these challenges and the ups and downs that you go through, and the mentality I came in here with was, 'As long as I can say that I was the best teammate possible to these guys, that was the best leader possible for these guys, and I did everything that I could to work extremely hard and control, that I was going to hang my head high.' And we did that, we stuck together. And so that was a big reason why I had fun playing football again and that's a huge factor in me playing better."

Two deputies with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office were honored for their bravery Thursday after

On November 9, 2023, a Brandon woman called 911 and said her son was in a mental health crisis at their home.

According to investigators, deputies arrived at the Heather Lakes subdivision where Ralph Bouzy and his mother lived. The first two arriving deputies found the son sitting in a running car and tried to deescalate the situation, but Bouzy refused to roll down the window and drove away.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said Bouzy then returned to the scene at a high rate of speed. That’s when Bouzy accelerated and intentionally struck Corporal Carlos Brito and Deputy Manny Santos, who had responded to the scene.

"There was a quick second that I thought I could die," Brito said. "And I left my wife a message, so she knows that I loved her."

Despite both deputies suffering severe leg injuries, Brito and Santos were able to move under their own power at Thursday’s ceremony – Brito using crutches and Santos wearing a brace.

Both deputies were presented with the HCSO Silver Cross Award for bravery during HCSO’s First Quarter Awards Ceremony.

"It was the scariest moment I’ve ever dealt with," Santos, who suffered a broken leg, said of what happened that day. "A lot of things went through my mind. But, I’m happy I’m here. I’m happy I got the award. And, I’m happy to be with my family."

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Initial fears were that Brito’s leg might have to be amputated, but doctors were able to save it. After Thursday’s ceremony, Brito met two paramedics, who helped treat him on the scene.

"It was amazing. They remember everything," Brito said.

Both deputies are back to work on light duty with the department as they continue to recover from their injuries.

"We’re here for the community. And we’re going to go back to the community and fight just the way we did before," Santos said.

. In December, a judge found him incompetent to stand trial and .