The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' tight end meeting room finally has a new face.
The Buccaneers claimed third-year tight end Jordan Leggett off waivers on Tuesday, a day after he was let go by the New York Jets. A fifth-round draft pick out of Clemson in 2017, Leggett spent his rookie season on injured reserve but returned to the field last year and appeared in 15 games with four starts.
Prior to the claiming of Leggett, the Buccaneers had five tight ends on the offseason roster, all of whom had been with the team in 2018. They briefly had a sixth tight end after signing undrafted rookie Isaiah Searight out of Fordham, but Searight was waived-injured after the team's rookie mini-camp. Leggett joins a group led by the productive duo of O.J. Howard and Cam Brate, along with another third-year man in Antony Auclair and a pair of first-year players, Donnie Ernsberger and Tanner Hudson.
The Buccaneers did not have to make a corresponding move on the 90-man roster as they had an open spot after releasing veteran defensive tackle Gerald McCoy on Monday.
The 150th-overall pick in the 2015 draft, Leggett (6-5, 258) competed for a starting job in his rookie training camp but sustained a knee injury that later required surgery. He was placed on injured reserve at the end of October in 2017 without having appeared in a game. Leggett returned from that injury to make the roster in 2018 and contribute 14 catches for 114 yards and one touchdown.
Leggett was a very productive pass-catcher at Clemson. Over four seasons and 44 games played he hauled in 112 passes for 1,598 yards and 18 touchdowns. That included 86 receptions and 15 touchdowns in his junior and senior seasons combined.
