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As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers move into Phase 3 of their offseason training program, they continue to tweak their 90-man roster. On Thursday, shortly before their third organized team activity day (OTA) of the spring, the Buccaneers swapped a pair of first-year players, signing kicker Brandon Bogotay and waiving center Ben Gottschalk.
The 6-3, 207-pound Bogotay played three seasons (2009-11) at Georgia, though the primary kicking duties throughout that span were owned by Blair Walsh, who has since gone on to earn All-Pro status with the Minnesota Vikings. Bogotay appeared in 14 games overall, converting one of three field goal tries and all seven of his extra point attempts. The San Diego native also kicked off 29 times, producing eight touchbacks. Bogotay spent one season at Grossmont Junior College in El Cajon, California and earned Southern Conference first-team honors before transferring to Georgia.
Bogotay first entered the NFL as a free agent with the Cleveland Browns in April of 2013 to compete for the kicking job with Shayne Graham (the Browns eventually went with Billy Cundiff). He was waived at the end of the preseason. Though he did not find a new NFL home in 2014, Bogotay participated in the Buccaneers' 2015 post-draft rookie mini-camp on a tryout basis.
In Tampa, he will share reps and compete with incumbent Patrick Murray, who won the team's job as a rookie free agent a year ago. Murray made all 31 of his extra point attempts and 20 of 24 field goals in 2014, including five of six tries from 50 yards and beyond.
Gottschalk signed with the Buccaneers on April 9. He had entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with Kansas City the previous spring and had briefly landed a spot on the Chiefs' practice squad during the regular season.
Phase 3 of the Buccaneers' offseason program continues into June with the final seven of 10 allotted OTAs spent during the first two weeks of the month. The program will culminate in the third week of June with a mandatory mini-camp for the entire roster.
