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Zyon McCollum is seeking a long-term extension with the final year of his rookie contract coming up. While their primary focus remains on training camp, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are open to keeping their young cornerback around for the foreseeable future.
McCollum, a 2022 fifth-round pick, is entering the final year of his four-year, $3.9 million rookie deal. With free agency on tap for the 2026 offseason, his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, is meeting with the Buccaneers to discuss a long-term extension, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
McCollum has improved in each of his first three years and is coming off a career year in 2024. The 26-year-old racked up 82 tackles, 17 pass breakups and two interceptions while starting all 17 games. McCollum led the team in pass breakups and interceptions while finishing second in tackles behind star linebacker Lavonte David.
After spending his first two years rotating in behind Jamel Dean, Carlton Davis III and Sean Murphy-Bunting, McCollum emerged as a starter in 2024. With Davis and Murphy-Bunting out of the picture, the Sam Houston State alum proved to be a diamond in the rough and ended the year with a stellar 69.5 player grade from Pro Football Focus, placing him in the top 25 percent among 222 graded cornerbacks.
Buccaneers to feature Zyon McCollum in 2025
With McCollum breaking out as an elite cornerback in 2024, the Buccaneers will likely cooperate with his contract demands to keep him around. Tampa Bay figures to lean on him in their secondary moving forward, beginning in 2025.
McCollum's gradual emergence gives the Buccaneers one of the most talented secondaries in the league. They return Dean, Tykee Smith and star safeties Antoine Winfield Jr. and Christian Izien, while adding highly touted cornerback prospect Benjamin Morrison to the group. Barring injuries, the unit will be one of the most experienced and talented in the league.
Despite McCollum's breakout, the Buccaneers were dreadful against the pass in 2024. They allowed the third-most passing yards per game and the 10th-highest completion percentage on the year. The poor numbers were skewed by teams forced to keep up with their elite offense — Tampa Bay averaged 29.0 points per game in 2024, the fourth-most in the league — but not a standard Todd Bowles will be satisfied with.
While maintaining most of their secondary, the Buccaneers bolstered their pass-rushing, which was a weakness in 2024. Tampa Bay took a gamble on troubled star Haason Reddick with a one-year, $14 million deal in free agency.
