Stroughter Out For Season; Chris Owusu In

September 21st, 2012

Sammie Stroughter’s fourth season, and likely last season, in a Bucs uniform ends with him on injured reserve.

The Bucs started 2012 with Preston Parker as their punt returner, Michael Smith as kickoff returner and Sammie Stroughter as their backup at those positions.

Now all three of those guys are pretty much afterthoughts in the Bucs’ return game.

The Bucs placed Stroughter on injured reserve today with some sort of foot issue and signed speedster receiver/returner rookie Chris Owusu, who was on the Chargers’ practice squad. Owusu is a freakish athlete who wowed at the combine, but his draft stock plummeted after he had three concussions, per SFGate.com

Owusu’s 40-yard dash time (4.36 seconds) matched the fastest by a wide receiver. His broad jump (10 feet, 9 inches) ranked second among wideouts, and his vertical jump (40.5 inches) was third.

Despite those eye-popping figures, much of the predraft conversation surrounding Owusu concerns another number: three. That’s how many concussions Owusu had in a 13-month span during the latter part of his Stanford career. Owusu had two concussions in three weeks during his senior season and missed Stanford’s final four games.

With Greg Schiano expressing his confidence and excitement in Arrelious Benn as a kickoff returner, and the additions of Shipley and Owusu, Joe believes Smith’s stock has dropped considerably. Joe woudn’t be shocked if Smith is released. LeGarrette Blount can barely get on the field, and Smith is behind him and D.J. Ware.

As for the new receivers, Tiquan Underwood, Owusu and Shipley, they’re an interesting mix with plenty of speed. But at the end of the day, Joe doesn’t see them getting much work unless Benn, Mike Williams or Vincent Jackson are injured.

10 Responses to “Stroughter Out For Season; Chris Owusu In”

  1. robert Says:

    smith was good in preseason as a KR…did not wow in the pansies game, and i really didn’t see benn do any better. i think smith will get another shot @ returning….

  2. Keys Says:

    Eager to see who is going to Play slot since Parker was released.

  3. Kryq Says:

    Wonder who plays slot now, since Parker has been cut.

  4. Mike J Says:

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1256567-chris-owusu-can-become-a-star

  5. JonBuc Says:

    Stoughter has some glass feet….looks like his tenure with the Bucs if not in the NFL may be over. I’d love to see any of the new guys emerge but I just can’t picture it. Offense plays ” not to lose ” and only opens up in desperate times. Close to the vest is fine if thedefense is holding up….not so much otherwise.

  6. FLBoyInDallas Says:

    If Smith were cut he’d have a job immediately. He runs the ball with authority and has nice speed. He’s an asset as a backup and I don’t see why the Bucs would cut the guy.

  7. T. Bass Says:

    Benn was mainly a slot reciever at Illinois, so I think its his time to sink or swim

  8. Tony FWB Says:

    Benn or Tiquan Underwood will be in the slot spot now. Bye bye Stroughter, thanks for everything you’ve done. Really surprised they release Parker so quickly knowing Stroughter was injured, still would of liked on him on the squad, everyone goes through a fumbling stage and grow out of it.

  9. Miguel Grande Says:

    It’s nice to see someone who has not run the gauntlets signed. Evidently, he passed. Maybe, he’ll recover by the bye week.

    Stanford players are usually pretty smart, maybe he’ll be smart enough to figure out the complexities of the Little General’s rules and regulations enough to stay out of the doghouse.

  10. The Dutcher Journal (Pete Dutcher) Says:

    Miguel Grande, actually, all signings are dependent on passing a physical, and part of that physical in Tampa is the “gauntlet.”

    So he may well have done it anyway.

    If any RB were cut, I want it to be Ware. Blount is better, Michael has too much potential as a returner.