Working in the NFL is not an easy job, no matter what the role may be. It's all about performing at the highest level despite simultaneously battling numerous factors that are not only out of one's control – they could totally derail a player's career.

But, sometimes, there are extremely easy decisions. And the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a very easy decision to make when it comes to extending Antoine Winfield Jr. 

They need to do it and they need to do it before the season is over.

And there's a way to do it: Restructure the remaining $8,951,647 from Devin White's contract and use that money to pay Winfield Jr.

The Buccaneers would have to pay White $840k over the course of the year, so the total restructure money would represent $8,111,647 to work with. That's plenty to lock the Pro Bowl safety in long-term. The sweet part of the deal is White is playing well enough to warrant a second contract in 2024, so the Bucs probably won't have to worry too much about eating the above money they'd place in void years. And, even if White does walk, that's not a terrible amount to eat in dead cap – especially when considering the team currently has more than $62 million in 2024 cap space, per Over The Cap.

Right now, Winfield Jr. is playing at an All-Pro level and he is an invaluable piece on the Bucs defense. He's only going to get more expensive as the season goes on – there's no reason to think his play will drop off. No one is saying he's going to play like he did against the Saints every week, but he's still going to be a very impactful player.

What a day for #GoBucs S Antoine Winfield Jr.

Finished nine tackles, 1.0 sack, 2.0 TFL, and a PBU, forced fumble, and fumble recovery.

The PBU was the key breakup in the EZ over Olave.

Dude was ON FIRE.

— Evan Winter (@evan_AtoZ) October 1, 2023

Los Angeles Chargers safety, Derwin James, is currently the NFL's highest-paid safety at $19.133 million per year. There's certainly a world in which Winfield Jr. makes more than that and if he doesn't, he's still going to make damn near close to that number. The Chargers were able to make James' first-year cap hit a very affordable $8,158,400, which the Buccaneers could do with Winfield Jr. Especially considering they already have a little more than $3.2 million in cap space plus the hypothetical White restructure.

Again, White looks like he's going to get paid in 2024 and it also looks like Baker Mayfield is going to get himself a nice contract from the Bucs, as well. Expect the latter number to be at least $40 million per year; that's just a byproduct of the QB market, mostly. Mayfield is objectively better than Daniel Jones, so there's a great chance he gets paid more than the New York Giants QB.

And of course, there's the looming Tristan Wirfs contract that is going to be insanely expensive now that the All-Pro has shown he can play left tackle at a high level. There's a good chance his deal will reset the tackle market.

Therefore, the Bucs need to go ahead and lock up Winfield Jr. They have some huge decisions to make and, Winfield Jr. is a key part of this team. 

Now, there's certainly reasons to wait. There's a chance Mayfield implodes down the stretch and even White, which would make navigating this decision a lot less hairy. But, that honestly doesn't look to be the case, right now. This Bucs team looks like a competitive team and they only have what looks to be about three playoff-worthy teams left on their schedule, right now, which means this team should be in good shape come later in the season.

Winfield Jr. has been an impact player ever since he arrived in Tampa (see his forced fumble against former Saints TE Jared Cook during the Bucs' Super Bowl run), so we know the kind of player he is and who we're getting moving forward.

By locking him up now, you have a good chance at getting him at a reduced cost and, you have a great chance to keep more key players on board. 

Sometimes, decisions are really this easy.