The Tampa Bay Buccaneers plan to use their remaining five games to determine which players to bring back next year.
Re-signing defensive end Jimmy Wilkerson appears to be a priority.
Wilkerson is in the last season of a two-year contract worth $3 million, but the Bucs are working hard to keep him from testing the free agent waters this offseason.
"They've made it clear that they'd like to have him back and Jimmy's made it clear that he wants to be back and we've been working toward that a little bit," said Harold C. Lewis, Wilkerson's agent. "We're not close to having anything finalized yet, but we have talked in parameters and hope we can get something done."
Wilkerson played in Kansas City for five seasons before signing with Tampa Bay as a free agent in 2008. He made an instant impact on special teams, but coaches were impressed with his ability to play defensive tackle, left defensive end or right defensive end. As a result, Wilkerson was named Tampa Bay's starting left end to replace Kevin Carter.
So far, Wilkerson (6-foot-2, 270 pounds) has 52 tackles, 22 quarterback pressures and six sacks this season. He is 28 years old and considered an important team leader by Tampa Bay's coaching staff.
The Bucs's other starting defensive linemen - Chris Hovan, Ryan Sims and Stylez G. White - are under contract through at least 2010. White is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2010 season.
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