It is officially cut down day across the NFL. Teams must trim their roster from 90 to get down to the 53 player mark. However, this isn’t something that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have to worry about.
It was reported last night that the Bucs have already made all their necessary cuts and have their opening day roster. There weren’t any major surprises, but a few things that caught my attention. Here are my initial thoughts on the Buccaneers opening day roster.
Only Five Wide Receivers
Even with Rakim Jarrett on the injured reserve list, I really thought the Bucs would take six receivers into the regular season. Instead it was just five; Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Jalen McMillan, Trey Palmer and undrafted rookie Kameron Johnson. These names were all expected to make the team following the final preseason game against the Dolphins.
However, it was pretty surprising to see that Cody Thompson didn’t make the roster. Thompson had been one of the biggest stars of the Buccaneers preseason. He impressed everyone with his consistency and how he emerged as the go to option among the second unit.
There was even speculation that Thompson would beat out Jarrett to make the roster, regardless of injury status. With such high praise (and the spread out nature of this offense) not seeing Thompson as the sixth wide receiver was very unexpected. Look for him to be a high priority practice squad addition.
FUNDER STRUCK!
It had been reported all along that undrafted rookie cornerback Tyrek Funderburk had been impressing the coaching staff. However, an injury two weeks ago left his status with the team in doubt. It’s hard to make the roster if you’re not practicing.
Especially with the likes of Keenan Isaac impressing during the preseason games; it felt like Funderburk was losing ground. Apparently that was not the case. The rookie from Appalachian State did enough in his limited time to secure his position with the team.
The Bucs desperately needed more depth at outside corner. After Bryce Hall, there wasn’t another backup corner behind him other than Tavierre Thomas who is primarily a nickel. The emergence of Funderburk was critical for this roster.
A Surprise Name
The battle on the defensive line has been an interesting one. C.J. Brewer is a guy who has stood out and consistently flashed in the preseason. However, it was Earnest Brown who emerged out of seemingly nowhere to be the sixth defensive lineman to make the roster.
Brown also had a nice showing over the last few games. He is listed at 6’4 and 300 lbs, so he brings good size to the defense line. He’s played with good power and has shown a pass rush on top of that.
It’s unclear how much playing time Brown will get, but to make the roster as a relative unknown is pretty impressive. He beat out bigger names who have been with the team longer, so that should only emphasize how impressed the coaching staff has been with him.
Four Tight Ends
The competition for backup tight end has been as close as can be imagined. All three players, Ko Kieft, Payne Durham and Devin Culp could have won the job. One the other side of that, any of those three could have been cut as well.
With no one clearly emerging in the preseason, the Bucs chose to keep all three. Is that a reflection that the Buccaneers like all three and see them all as part of the future? I’m not so sure about that. But it allows the team to further evaluate this group and make a decision as to who will fit best with the offense long term.
Two Quarterbacks
The Bucs said that it was an open competition between Kyle Trask and John Wolford for the backup quarterback job. We now know that Trask has won that spot and that Wolford has been released. This leaves the Bucs with just two quarterbacks on the roster.
Trask has played fairly well this preseason. Of course, there were ups and downs, but he made some of the most high level throws that I have ever seen from him. Opting to keep just one backup quarterback might be an endorsement as to how much the staff trusts Trask.
It’s also worth noting that Wolford was injured in the preseason and missed last week’s preseason game. A lingering injury could also be a part of this move.
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