Yaya Diaby’s case for a new deal is already getting harder. Through four games of the 2026 season, he has six pressures and zero sacks, a start that leaves the Tampa Bay Buccaneers weighing whether a player once viewed as a cornerstone still fits their long-term plans.
That matters now because Diaby is in the final year of his rookie contract, and the Buccaneers can read the next few months as a referendum on his future. If the season ended today, he would reach free agency without a new contract, with his market value estimated around $18.1 million annually by Spotrac.
The numbers behind the start are more troubling than the sack total alone. Pro Football Focus ranks Diaby as the second-worst pass rusher in the NFL through four weeks, sitting at 109th out of 110 edge rushers. He has remained solid against the run, but the job that made him valuable in the first place is getting quieter at the wrong time.
That is the part that has made the opening month so damaging. During his first three seasons with the team, Diaby was the Buccaneers’ long pass-rushing threat and led the team in sacks in two of those seasons. This offseason, the front was supposed to look even better around him after the Buccaneers added Rueben Bain Jr., Al-Aquarian Muhammad and A’Shawn Robinson. The expectation was that a stronger supporting cast would create cleaner chances for Diaby. Instead, his pass-rush production has slipped anyway.
The contrast is hard to miss because the team’s investment in the front was meant to strengthen the whole unit, not expose one of its most recognizable players. Diaby still gives Tampa Bay value in one phase, but contract talks are rarely built on partial production. A pass rusher in a walk year is judged on sacks, pressure and the ability to convert disruption into impact, and so far he has not delivered enough of the last two.
The Buccaneers do not have to decide his future today, but they do have to decide how long they are willing to wait. If Diaby turns the numbers around, a second contract remains possible. If he does not, this slow start could be the reason Tampa Bay lets a once-central piece test the market instead.
