Whatever Happened to Bucs’ 2025 Free Agents? Greg Gaines

Greg Gaines ended up becoming more important than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers expected him to be. Because of an injury that forced defensive tackle Calijah Kancey to miss 14 of 17 games last season, Gaines took on increased playing time, starting the most games (four) since joining the Bucs in 2023. Now, Gaines is a free agent again, his one-year deal from last March expired.

Gaines, who will be 30 in May, came to Tampa with several years of NFL experience. He’ll add to that experience in 2026, and it remains to be seen where he’ll do it. Bucs Roundtable will take a look at where each of the Buccaneers' 2025 free agents stands going into this year's cycle.

Our series has featured  offensive lineman Charlie Heck , linebackers  Haason Reddick  and  Anthony Walker Jr. , along with  cornerback Kindle Vildor  and  punter Riley Dixon . The series will also include players who were on the Bucs before 2025, who the team decided to re-sign, such as  receiver Chris Godwin  and the recently retired   Lavonte David.

Before the Bucs Gaines comes from the University of Washington, where he was teammates with another notable Bucs defensive lineman, Vita Vea. Gaines went to the Los Angeles Rams in the fourth round of the 2019 draft. After playing sparingly early on -- 284 snaps over his first two seasons -- Gaines had his busiest season in 2021, playing 780 snaps.