With veteran players due to report for training camp on Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a small amount of roster business to take care of before getting to work on the practice field.
The Buccaneers' list of pre-camp maneuvers is pleasantly short and it leaves the team with 90 active players, 87 of whom are ready to practice. Here are Tuesday's roster moves:
- Waived/failed physical guard Garrett Gilkey
- Signed rookie OL Joel Hale
- Placed WR Louis Murphy on the active/physically-unable-to-perform list
- Placed G J.R. Sweezy on the active/physically-unable-to-perform list
- Placed S Elijah Shumate on the active/non-football-injury list
Gilkey, who spent the 2015 season on injured reserve, had been part of the 90-man roster since being activated from that list in February, though he did not take part in the offseason program. If he clears waivers, he will revert to the Buccaneers' reserve/physically-unable-to-perform list and will not count against the 90-man camp roster. Gilkey played 16 games with one start for the Buccaneers in 2014.
Hale (6-4, 310) is getting his first crack on an NFL roster after finishing his collegiate career at Ohio State last fall, though he did take part in Tampa Bay's rookie mini-camp in May on a tryout basis. He played three seasons on the defensive line, starting nine games as a junior in 2013. After switching to the offensive line for his senior season, he was limited by injuries to one game and ended up with a redshirt. Hale returned for a fifth season last fall despite graduating and went back to the defensive line. The Buccaneers listed Hale as a center during his tryout in May.
INFO: TRAINING CAMP GUIDE
The designations for Murphy, Sweezy and Shumate indicate that they will not be ready to take the practice field on the first day of training camp but do not necessarily portend a long absence. Players on the active/PUP or active/NFI lists still count against the 90-man roster, and they can be activated from that list at any time in order to return to practice. The purpose of placing a player on active/PUP or active/NFI prior to training camp is to retain the option to later put him on reserve/PUP or reserve/NFI, even if that course of action currently seems unlikely.
Murphy is returning from an ACL injury that required surgery late last October. He did not take part in the offseason program but had targeted an early training camp return. In two seasons with the Buccaneers he has played in 17 games with four starts and recorded 41 receptions for 578 yards and two touchdowns. He is considered one of the team's primary competitors for the third receiver spot behind starters Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson.
The Buccaneers signed Sweezy, formerly of the Seattle Seahawks, as an unrestricted free agent in March and tabbed him as the replacement for retired left guard Logan Mankins in the starting lineup. He had an unspecified procedure in the spring and did not take part in OTA practices. Sweezy started 49 games over four seasons in Seattle, including all but two from 2013-2015.
Shumate signed with the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame on May 2. He did participate in the offseason program; the NFI designation indicates an injury that was not suffered on the practice field.
The Buccaneers' first training camp practice is scheduled for Thursday morning. The first camp practice open to the public will begin on Saturday morning at 8:45 a.m. Visit the training camp schedule page for more information.
