The Tampa Bay Buccaneers waived 19 players on Friday and released two, beginning the process of reducing the 90-man roster to the regular-season limit of 53 by 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Seventeen of the 21 players on Friday's list were rookies or first-year men. The players waived or released were:
- WR K.J. Brent (injury designation)
- S Lukas Denis
- WR Matthew Eaton
- CB De'Vante Harris
- G Ruben Holcomb
- OLB Farrington Huguenin
- WR Anthony Johnson
- OLB David Kenney
- C Josh LeRibeus (released)
- WR DaMarkus Lodge
- ILB Corey Nelson (released)
- TE Scott Orndoff
- T William Poehls
- DL Elijah Qualls
- T Brock Ruble
- WR Spencer Schnell
- WR Cortrelle Simpson (injury designation)
- ILB Emmanuel Smith
- QB Vincent Testaverde
- DL Stevie Tu'ikolovatu
- G Salasi Uhatafe
Players who are waived/injured, like Brent and Simpson, pass through waivers and revert to injured reserve if they go unclaimed. They can later be released with an injury settlement.
Nelson and LeRibeus are the only players on the list who were vested veterans. Nelson played four seasons in Denver and one in Atlanta before signing with the Buccaneers, while LeRibeus spent four years in Washington and two in New Orleans. They do not have to pass through waivers and immediately become free agents. Harris is the next most experienced player on the list, with 31 games played over the last three years in New Orleans and Tampa.
Denis, Johnson, Kenney, Lodge, Ruble, Schnell, Simpson and Testaverde were undrafted rookies who signed with the Buccaneers in May or, in Testaverde's case, July. Tu'ikolovatu was originally a seventh-round draft pick in 2017, and he spent all of the 2017 and 2018 seasons on injured reserve. Holcomb was an undrafted free agent in 2018 who saw time on Tampa Bay's practice squad last fall. Eaton, Brent, Eaton, Huguenin, Orndoff, Poehls, Qualls, Smith and Uhatafe had all been with other teams before signing with the Buccaneers at various points.
The Buccaneers must make 16 more moves on Saturday in order to get down to the limit. That can include placing players on various reserve lists, and Head Coach Bruce Arians indicated on Friday that outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul and rookie quarterback Nick Fitzgerald are ticketed for the reserve/non-football injury list.
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