Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Bucs Facing Tough Roster Decisions at Receiver, O-Line, D-Line

The Buccaneers have one more week to figure out how many players and precisely who to keep at such competitive positions as wide receiver, offensive line and defensive line

Aug 19, 2024 at 05:00 PM

Scott Smith

Senior Writer/Editor

The clock is ticking on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 91-man preseason roster, and there isn't much time left. Like the rest of the league, the Buccaneers must get that number down to 53 by 4:00 p.m. ET next Tuesday in preparation for the arrival of the regular season.

That process will mostly be accomplished by straight cuts, though various reserve lists could be involved, or even a trade or two. It won't be easy, even if the team's brain trust already has a good idea of how to fill 40 to 45 of those 53 spots. The toughest decisions come from the positions with greater depth of talent; you can choose to keep more than usual at one spot on the depth chart in order to keep that talent, but that necessarily requires a sacrifice at another position. It's a zero-sum exercise.

The Bucs have one final week and one more preseason game, against the Miami Dolphins on Friday, to gather evidence for those tougher decisions. On Monday, Head Coach Todd Bowles hinted at where we should be directing our attention on Friday night in order to evaluate the stiffest remaining roster-spot battles.

On Sunday, Bowles shared his opinion that the outside linebacker position is the deepest one on the defensive half of the depth chart. On Monday, when asked to pinpoint any other position groups that are still very competitive as the cut to 53 looms, he identified three more: wide receiver, offensive line and defensive line.

"There's a few, a couple wide receiver spots at the end," said Bowles. "How many running backs we keep, how many tight ends we keep. The offensive line is still moving and shaking at the end; we'll see what happens, who comes out healthy and who doesn't. The depth at D-Line will be very interesting to see this week."

A year ago, five wide receivers made it through the cuts to the Bucs' 53-man roster in September. Four of those five are still on the roster in 2024 – Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Trey Palmer and Rakim Jarrett – and the team used a third-round pick on wide receiver Jalen McMillan, as well. However, the impressive work of some other young receivers in training camp and the preseason game – among them Kameron Johnson, Ryan Miller and Cody Thompson – may factor into the Bucs' decisions next Tuesday.

Godwin doesn't really have to worry about being unseated, but he knows the people who have to decide how to fill the fifth and maybe sixth (possibly even seventh?) receiver spots on the depth chart have a lot to think about.

"To be honest, I really feel like we have like 10 guys that can realistically make the roster," he said. "We have a loaded group, and like I mentioned earlier, I feel like each year, you have more and more guys that can legitimately play. Kam has been doing a really good job. Cody, Ryan's been doing a great job. Raliegh [Webb]'s done things. I think throughout camp, 'Rock' (Jarrett) has been doing good things. There's been a lot of guys that have made a lot of plays throughout camp, to show that they are capable of doing it. It's just unfortunate that we can't have 10 guys on active. I don't envy the people that have to make those decisions."

As Bowles suggested above, those decisions won't just affect the running back position. When the Bucs retained just five receivers last year, that gave them room to hold onto four players each at both running back and tight end. If the Bucs do stretch the receiver position to seven or more spots, they very well could choose to go with just three players at one or both of those other positions. With seven tight ends and six running backs currently on the roster, that decision is going to affect a lot of roster hopefuls. Complicating matters is the injuries that are currently keeping veteran running back Chase Edmonds and second-year tight end Payne Durham off the field. How soon those two can get back in the mix may also affect how many other players the Bucs' hold onto at their positions.

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JACKSONVILLE, FL - August 15, 2024 - Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. #31 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before joint practice against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Photo By Kyle Zedaker/Tampa Bay Buccaneers