TAMPA, Fla. -- After the NFL's first day of legal tampering and heading into Day 2, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are considered the front-runner to land free-agent wide receiver DeSean Jackson, who is not expected to re-sign with the Washington Redskins.

The general feeling from multiple league sources has been that the Bucs would be able to land Jackson, who is believed to be seeking a contract worth $10 million to $12 million annually and could wind up the highest-paid wide receiver in this free-agency period.

NFL rules permit agents and teams to gauge interest and negotiate contracts during this time, and they can even work out agreements, but travel cannot be arranged and no contracts can be signed until Thursday at 4 p.m. ET, when the new league year begins.

The Washington Post reported that in addition to the Bucs, the Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys have inquired about Jackson.

The Bucs lead all of those teams with $66 million in salary cap space, according to ESPN’s Roster Management System. The Patriots have a little more than $62 million, while the Cowboys have about $3.2 million and the Eagles about $8.5 million.

While the Patriots have a significant amount of money available, as ESPN's Mike Reiss notes, the Patriots are more apt to spend on low-to-moderately priced free agents. They may have ponied up $12 million to sign Darrelle Revis in 2014, but it was for one year. They're usually re-signing their own and acquiring players who have been overlooked elsewhere.

Jackson has said he'd be open to returning to the Eagles, but it is believed that they might be able to offer only $6 million to $7 million per year -- too low for a player of his caliber. He averaged $8 million annually on his three-year deal with the Redskins.

The Cowboys have 21 free agents they appear to be more focused on re-signing and very little wiggle room, room that was created by restructuring the contract of linebacker Sean Lee.

Can the Bucs afford to pay Jackson and still compensate Mike Evans?

The question had been raised as to how the Bucs can afford Jackson while preparing to extend the contract of Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Evans.

Hypothetically speaking, the Bucs could sign the 30-year-old Jackson to a three-year deal and give him in excess of $12 million per year, which would also be the salary-cap charge, as opposed to a contract with a prorated signing bonus, where the cap charge is higher later on.

They could do that while Evans is still on his rookie deal and while not having to break the bank re-signing some of their own players this year, including defensive end William Gholston, whom they just brought back on a five-year deal, and running back Jacquizz Rodgers, who is expected to return.

Evans will enter the fourth year of his contract in 2017 and the Bucs will have the option to pick up the fifth year. A new contract could feature a structure that uses a signing bonus so that the rest of the contract is prorated over the next few years and the cap charge is lessened up front. Evans is a young player who should have a long, prosperous career with the Bucs. Teams generally want to avoid getting into the habit of back-loading deals to avoid future cap trouble.

Quarterback Jameis Winston eventually will need a new deal, too, although there is some time since he's only entering his third year. Looking at the Bucs' current contracts, the only player whose cap charge actually rises over the next four years is linebacker Lavonte David, whose cap charge goes up incrementally, from $6 million to $10.75 million. There are no real cap obstacles currently or down the road.

Bottom line: The Bucs can afford Jackson, but they won't blow the bank. They will exercise some degree of restraint on a player they believe could significantly improve their offense.

ESPN's Mike Reiss, Tim McManus, Todd Archer and Dan Graziano contributed to this report.