A gallery of some of the college free agents the Buccaneers signed after the conclusion of the 2015 NFL Draft.
Photo: Brown Athletics
Photo: Tusculum Athletics
Photo: Southern Mississippi Athletics
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 2015 rookie class ballooned from seven members to 20 on Monday when the team announced the signing of 13 undrafted free agents. That group joined the team's seven draft picks, who also were given the opportunity to pick their Buccaneer jersey numbers on Monday. The team completed that task by matching the free agents with their first NFL jersey numbers later that same day.
Here's what number each of the Bucs' 13 undrafted rookies will wear when they take the field for rookie mini-camp this weekend:
LB Quinton Alston: #59
RB Dominique Brown: #36
DT Quayshawne Buckley: #77
LS Courtland Clavette: #44
DE Ryan Delaire: #75
CB Deshazor Everett: #38
S Chris Hackett: #35
WR Rannell Hall: #16
LB Josh Keyes: #49
DT Caushaud Lyons: #68
WR Josh Reese: #19
LB Michael Reynolds: #71
DE Jamal Young: #67
As is inevitable when rosters stretch to 90 players during the offseason – given that specific number ranges are assigned to each position, and that a handful of Buccaneer numbers are retired or rarely assigned – there are some players wearing duplicate numbers.
When players are given the same number during the offseason, they are usually paired up in offensive/defensive combinations; for instance, rookie LB Josh Keyes and first-year TE Taylor Sloat are both currently wearing #49. Rookie LS Courtland Clavette will share #44 with fourth-year safety M.D. Jennings for the time being, and rookie LB Michael Reynolds could end up in a battle of #71s if he tries to get past first-year C Ben Gottschalk.
UNDRAFTED Fa's
DT Quayshawne Buckley
DE Ryan Delaire
CB Deshazor Everett
S Chris Hackett
WR Rannell Hall
LB Josh Keyes
DT Caushaud Lyons
WR Josh Reese
LB Michael Reynolds
DE Jamal Young
LS Courtland Clavette
Teams are not required to adhere to the position-specific number ranges during the offseason, though they make every effort to do so. Rookie linebackers sometimes find themselves in the 40s when the 50-59 range is full, as is the case with Keyes. This year, however, that's an acceptable number, as a minor tweak to the rules in 2015 now allows linebackers to wear anything in the 40s in addition to the 50s and 90s.
Reynolds' #71 would not be acceptable for a linebacker in the regular season, but there's nothing currently available in the 40s, 50s or 90s. That designation could also indicate that the Buccaneers will look at Reynolds as more of a pass-rusher. The 240-pound defender played the "BUCK" position at Kansas, which is generally considered a linebacker but is usually deployed at the line of scrimmage and often is used to rush the passer. Reynolds had a team-high seven sacks for the Jayhawks last year.
One other note regarding a change to the Buccaneers' roster, though it involves not a number but a name: veteran Evan Dietrich-Smith, who started 15 games at center in his first season in Tampa in 2014, has legally changed his name to Evan Smith. The Buccaneers' updated 2015 roster can be found here.
