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Buccaneers exercise option on Riley Dixon ahead of free agency
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- Buccaneers exercise option on Riley Dixon ahead of free agency
The Bucs special teams struggled heavily in 2025. To fix things, they brought in veteran coordinator Danny Smith from the Pittsburgh Steelers , and now they are giving him someone familiar as a returning piece.
This week, the Bucs exercised the option of Riley Dixon 's second year in his contract to bring him back for the 2026 season. He signed a two-year, $6 million deal last offseason, and while he struggled to start the year, he found his footing towards the end, which seems to have left a good memory on the minds of the Bucs.
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Dixon started the year out rough, having two critical punts blocked, which led to two early losses in the season. However, he rebounded and finished the year with a punt average of 44.7 yards on 63 punts, with a 38.9-yard net average. Both numbers were good, not great, but the arrival of Danny Smith to help special teams could improve those.
With Dixon's return, this also means the Bucs will have back both specialists for the 2026 season, as kicker Chase McLaughlin will be back after several solid years for the team.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: NFL Offseason: Bucs exercise option on Riley Dixon beforefree agency
