The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have to trim down to 53 players by next Saturday, but first they're going to push the roster back to its limit for the final week of the preseason.
The Buccaneers went back to work on Sunday after filling three open spots on the 91-man roster with the signings of wide receiver Donteea Dye, running back Devine Redding and long-snapper Garrison Sanborn. Those openings were created in recent days when running back Charles Sims and wide receiver Sergio Bailey were placed on injured reserve and wide receiver Jake Lampman was waived with an injury designation.
The Buccaneers conclude their preseason on Thursday night with a home game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. As is customary in the fourth week of the preseason, the team will likely rest most of their starters and established veterans, instead devoting all of the snaps to young roster hopefuls. As such, it makes sense to max out the roster for Thursday's game even with a deep round of cuts coming.
Two of those three newcomers are actually not new to One Buccaneer Place at all. Dye first entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with Tampa Bay in 2015 out of Heidelberg, and he made the team as a rookie. He appeared in 11 games over the next two seasons, with six starts, and recorded 11 receptions for 132 yards. Dye went to camp with the Buccaneers again last summer but did not make the regular-season roster.
Sanborn was the Buccaneers' long-snapper last season, his ninth year in the NFL. A Florida State product and Tampa native, Sanborn played his first eight seasons (2009-16) with the Buffalo Bills. He has played in 144 straight games over the last nine years. First-year player Drew Ferris has handled all of the Bucs' long-snapping during this year's training camp and preseason, though a low snap in Friday's game against Detroit contributed to a missed extra point by Chandler Catanzaro. Ferris is looking to make a regular-season NFL roster for the first time.
Redding entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Indiana with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2017. He played in all four preseason games for the Chiefs last summer with one start and logged 26 carries for 67 yards along with two receptions for 10 yards. Redding also played on special teams and contributed two kick-coverage tackles. He was released prior to the start of the regular season.
