The Tampa Bay Buccaneers rather surprisingly made it almost two weeks into their 2023 training camp without making a single roster move. Almost.
On Monday, the Buccaneers tapped into the waiver wire for the first time since opening camp on July 26, signing rookie safety Avery Young, who played his college ball at Rutgers. To make room for Young on the current 90-man roster, the team released first-year offensive tackle Grant Hermanns.
Young originally signed with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in May but was waived last Tuesday and cleared waivers on Wednesday. He was a team captain at Rutgers who earned the program's Iron Knight Award for demonstrating a high level of mental and physical toughness. His brother, Jordan Young, is a linebacker who signed with the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent out of Old Dominion last year and went to training camp with the team.
The 6-0, 198-pound Young played five seasons at Rutgers, the first three at cornerback and the last two at safety. He moved into the starting lineup in just his second game as a true freshman and ended up opening 54 of the 57 career games in which he played for the Scarlet Knights. As a senior, he recorded 84 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, five passes defensed and one forced fumble.
The Buccaneers now have two members of the 2022 Rutgers secondary on their camp roster, as Young joins fellow undrafted rookie Christian Izien. Izien has had a prominent role in practice as one of the competitors for the open nickel corner position.
Hermanns first joined the Buccaneers last December, signing to the practice squad in Week 14. After the season, he was signed to a reserve/futures contract for 2023 and he reported to the Bucs' training camp in late July. Hermanns was an undrafted free agent signee with the Jets out of Purdue in 2021 and he has spent time on the practice squads in New York and Miami.
