As Monday morning arrived, Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter is left with a few tough questions regarding the 53 man roster and exactly how many receivers he plans on keeping. But after an impressive win Saturday night, the wide receiver group may be the most difficult to decide, and it won’t be easy.
Sure it would be nice to just keep everybody, but the rules are the rules and if it has to be 53 men than unfortunately, good players are going to leave your team. This is likely the case for Tampa Bay as they face an ugly amount of injuries piling in up in two major areas, the offensive line and the secondary. To remedy the problem Tampa will likely have an extra man in the group with needs it most, and maybe more. When cut time arrives we will have a better idea, but those extra players could be needed more than a 6th, 7th or 8th wide receiver most likely.
With Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson, Chris Godwin, and Adam Humphries all locked in for the first 4 in the group, there are still good receivers fighting to make what will hopefully be a 6 or 7 man group. Freddie Martino, Bernard Reedy, Bobo Wilson, Justin Watson and Sergio Bailey all remain to fight for what will be 2 or 3 roster spots. With impressive plays in the preseason games I really like what Justin Watson and Sergio Bailey have done. My opinion they keep Watson for 5 and Bobo at 6. I would keep an eye on Sergio as he impressed when given the opportunity. Freddie and Bernard have been very helpful for this team and their value, as well as contributions, are always appreciated and well received.
Special teams will play a pivotal role in this as well. Whoever can contribute the most, usually finds their way onto the final 53, and performing well on special teams can really help your value. With a couple weeks left in the preseason let’s hope for a healthy team come week 1 and a deep balanced offer to begin the grind.
