The Tampa Bay Buccaneers continued to tweak their 90-man roster in advance of training camp on Wednesday, signing undrafted rookie cornerback Mazzi Wilkins and fifth-year tight end Troy Niklas. To make room for those additions, the Buccaneers waived/injured a pair of rookies, cornerback Jalen Allison and wide receiver Xavier Ubosi.
Wilkins is a Bay area native while Niklas has a connection to Bruce Arians and the Buccaneers' new coaching staff. Wilkins was a prep standout at Plant High School in Tampa before playing his college ball at the nearby University of South Florida. Niklas was a second-round draft pick of Arians' Arizona Cardinals in 2014 and he played his first four seasons under Arians before sitting out in 2018.
The 6-0, 181-pound Wilkins took part in the Buccaneers' rookie mini-camp in May on a tryout contract. This is his first signing with an NFL team. Wilkins played in 47 games over four seasons for the Bulls, recording 110 career tackles along with three interceptions, 22 passes defensed, 2.0 tackles for loss, a half-sack and a fumble recovery. He tallied all three of his interceptions as a junior in 2017.
Niklas (6-6, 264) was the 52nd overall pick in 2014 out of Notre Dame. In his four seasons with Arians' Cardinals he played in 41 games with 18 starts and contributed 19 catches for 203 yard and three touchdowns. He had 11 receptions for 132 yards and one score in 2017, his and Arians' final season in Arizona. The New England Patriots signed Niklas as an unrestricted free agent last spring but he was released near the end of July and did not subsequently sign with another team.
Both Allison and Ubosi were signed by the Buccaneers in the offseason as undrafted free agents, out of North Dakota State and Alabama-Birmingham, respectively.
Veterans report for Tampa Bay's training camp on Thursday and the first practice will take place Friday afternoon.
