During his final scheduled session with the local media this season on Monday, Tampa Bay coach Tim Marcum said he didn’t think the Storm’s roster this season would undergo a major overhaul in the offseason, but the coach made it clear he would like to upgrade at a few spots, notably the secondary and on the defensive line.

With that in mind, here is the list of the Storm players who are not under contract for next season (Tampa Bay holds exclusive negotiating rights with each of these players until Aug. 15):

OL/DL Marcus Owen
DL Kelvin Kinney
OL/DL Tom Briggs
K Seth Marler
WR/LB Lawrence Samuels
QB Stoney Case
OL/DL Ernest Certain
WR/KR Sedrick Robinson
DL/LB Nyle Wiren
DB Traco Rachal
DB Byron Jones

Marcum spoke about a few of the players on this list Monday, notably Owen, Marler and Samuels.

It’s safe to say that if Samuels wants to come back to the Storm for another season, Marcum will find a spot of the longtime veteran (a large contract demand would be about the only thing to hold things up). Samuels said following the Storm’s season finale against Los Angeles that he would discuss the situation with his family during the offseason and make a determination on whether or not to return for a 16th AFL season. Marcum said there is no timetable for Samuels to notify him of a decision.

Marcum also indicated he’d like to have both Marler and Owen return next season, provided the Storm can make the contracts for both players work in the salary cap situation. Owen can play both sides of the line and is solid on each, making him an attractive addition to any team. Meanwhile, Marler has been steady in each of his two seasons here - plus, those who have followed this team know Marcum doesn’t want to deal with a headache at the kicker position.

One player on the list the Storm probably will try to keep here is Rachal, one of the defense’s top playmakers this season and arguably the best on the unit during the second half of the season. Rachal finished sixth in the league with 110.5 tackles, the second-highest total in franchise history, and led the team with five interceptions.

In addition, one player the Storm likely will re-sign during the offseason is WR Hank Edwards, who had a breakout season with 85 receptions for 1,348 yards and 30 touchdowns in 13 games. Edwards is under contract through 2009, but Marcum indicated Monday that he would like to give Edwards a new deal, specifically because the coach said Edwards had earned it.