Anthony Nelson Makes An Impact
August 22nd, 2026
Still has it.
OK, OK, OK. Joe knows the guys on the field for the Chiefs playing against the Bucs in Saturday’s second worthless preseason game of the season will be coaching high school ball in two weeks or doing your taxes next spring. But still, results are results.
And Joe was glad to see Bucs outside linebacker Anthony Nelson show up tonight, get results and make an impact.
Nelson, a Bucs backup since 2019, has had a fairly quiet training camp. Joe can only think of once or twice Nelson has been noticed.
With fellow outside linebackers Rueben Bain in the house and David Walker being the flavor of the month, is Nelson at risk of The Turk showing up next weekend? (Cutdown Day to get to 53 is Aug. 30.) Nelson will earn a $4 million salary if he makes the roster.
Well, Nelson showed up tonight. Yeah, he was going up against two stiffs. But at least he was making an impact. Nelson had a strip and a sack on two separate plays, both against Justin Fields.
On the strip, Nelson completely blew past Chiefs undrafted rookie right tackle Kahlil Benson and punched the ball away from Fields.
On his sack, Nelson bullrushed left tackle Esa Pole to push Pole back into Fields, who was flushed as a result.
Nelson was able to chase down Fields after preventing him from getting outside the pocket. Mohamed Kamara boxed in Fields from the left side and Fields had nowhere to go as Nelson slammed him to the ground.
Nelson is streaky. He’s not a physical guy; physical teams too easily take him out. But when he’s on, like in the win over the slimy Saints on the road last year, Nelson can be destructive.
Do the Bucs go cheap and stick with younger, less-talented, less-proven talent, or do they keep a reliable backup like Nelson?
Joe guesses Nelson showed the Bucs tonight he’s still got gas in the tank.
August 23rd, 2026 at 12:22 am
But like ya said Joe he disappears against physical teams which doesn’t help us in any way. We need dogs. Not someone who will show up against weaker competition.
August 23rd, 2026 at 12:26 am
Nelson last year made that great play(int) versus the Saints–it was one of the best plays of the season. The year before that versus the Panthers, he punched the ball out of stinkin Panther running back which won us that game. he has proven him self over and over.
August 23rd, 2026 at 12:34 am
“Nelson is streaky. He’s not a physical guy; physical teams too easily take him out. But when he’s on, like in the win over the slimy Saints on the road last year, Nelson can be destructive.”
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I remember people in the comments after that game saying we needed to lock him up to a new deal right away – and the majority of people agreeing that he had leveled up and would be an every week starter going forward.
I reminded them that the Saints normally make one Buccaneer each year look like a future HOFer, and the fans fall for it every single time. In 2025 it was Nelson, in 2024 it was Tucker, heck go back to 2018 and people were panicking saying we needed to give Fitz a new longterm deal as the starter after he chopped up the Saints D.
Learn your lesson people.
August 23rd, 2026 at 1:29 am
Has anyone below Nelson on the depth chart done anything to make a hot seat head coach/DC comfortable kicking him out the door on cutdown day?
No, I didn’t think so. Nelson is a glue guy – tougher to replace than what the stats say it should be.
August 23rd, 2026 at 1:37 am
How many edge guys will they keep? I love Nelson but the Bucs will likely keep Bain, Diaby, Muhammad, and Walker ahead of him, as they should. Should they keep more than four?
August 23rd, 2026 at 2:13 am
Yes, Laard, 5 works, especially if Walker or others have inside switch potential at either the first or second level.
This is a fun group and I hope Bowles takes advantage of the shot at redemption they give him. I’ve been a fan/stumper for Kamara since his Deion days and I’m excited to see what a cornfusing mess Bowles can make of this roster’s OLB and DL talent for opponents. Let it rain pass rush!
August 23rd, 2026 at 6:13 am
Shop him?
August 23rd, 2026 at 6:50 am
Laard … ‘Should they keep more than four?’
Last season 4 OLBs (Nelson, Reddick, Walker & Watts) missed a total of 25 games due to injuries. We had a total of 6 OLBs on our roster at various times in the season.
In 2024 we had 3 OLBs (Watts, JTS & Nelson) miss a total of 11 games due to injuries. We had a total of 6 OLBs on our roster at various times in the season.
In 2023 we had 2 OLBs (Shaq & Nelson) miss a total of only 4 games due to injuries. And in 2023 we again had a total of 6 OLBs on our roster at various times in the season.
Looks like Todd Bowles is pretty consistent from a seasonal perspective in keeping 6 OLBs available to meet our roster needs. Got a hunch we’ll end up with the same this season, keeping Diaby, Nelson, Muhammad, Bain, Walker & either Braswell or Kamara or Pyburn as the 6th OLB.
August 23rd, 2026 at 7:51 am
Streaky… isn’t that a Bucs requirement?
August 23rd, 2026 at 8:16 am
I really like Nelson as a depth piece, but it doesn’t mean he can’t be beat out by better depth pieces.
Guy plays hard, gets what he can out of the talent he has. If he goes there are plenty of teams out there that would give him a job, he’ll be fine.
It’s one of those NFL careers that when the guy looks at his bank account then looks back says “Yeah, that was a good time” then opens a real estate office or something in the team city, with a few pictures here and there from his playing days. Kind of a not quite Brad Culpepper
August 23rd, 2026 at 8:43 am
Did Braswell even play last night? I don’t remember seeing him and he didn’t show up at all on the stat sheet.
August 23rd, 2026 at 9:17 am
“Nelson is streaky. He’s not a physical guy; physical teams too easily take him out“
Joe, respectfully this is dead wrong. You don’t last this long in the NFL as a depth piece playing spot duty AND special teams without being physical.
Y’all been sleeping on Nelly his entire career here and it’s gross. ?? Joe is a Nelson fan. He’s had a hell of a career as as fourth-round pick. The guy’s on his third contract with a Super Bowl ring and the Bucs can count on him. He doesn’t have to be a special player. Solid depth player. –Joe
August 23rd, 2026 at 9:38 am
Nelly is a keeper, been here long enough for us as fans to know his value as a lunch pale guy. Easily one of Lichts better draftees in terms of what we spent and what we’ve gotten from him. Shouldn’t take a preseason game in 2026 to realize that
August 23rd, 2026 at 9:39 am
Let’s think about this. Bains and Yaya. Walker and that guy from Detroit with the Arabic name. There was that kid named something like Pyllons who had two sacks last week but I didn’t see him this week. Heck, that kid might go back to school for even more money. There’s room for Nelly. We usually keep six OLBs.
August 23rd, 2026 at 9:40 am
“I remember people in the comments after that game saying we needed to lock him up to a new deal right away – and the majority of people agreeing that he had leveled up and would be an every week starter going forward.“
Nobody said this
August 23rd, 2026 at 10:09 am
Be a crying shame if they cut Nelly!
Go Bucs!
August 23rd, 2026 at 10:42 am
Nellie just shows up. He’s all got to, and no mouth. Despite having calves smaller than my wife’s:(
August 23rd, 2026 at 11:57 am
Toilet bowls only cares how he looks when he drops into coverage.
August 23rd, 2026 at 4:17 pm
Nelson has ALWAYS shown up. His problem hasn’t been lack of production. It’s lack of playing time. One of the many mysteries about Todd Bowles handling of the defense
August 23rd, 2026 at 6:03 pm
He’s a baller, when he’s on the field good things tend to happen. If by some chance he doesn’t make the Bucs 53 man roster, he’ll definitely be on another teams roster, for sure.
August 23rd, 2026 at 7:38 pm
Hodad Says:
August 23rd, 2026 at 6:13 am
Shop him?
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Should package him and Tucker and see if we can get the Saints to bite on a high draft pick – their fans would probably think it’s an incredible deal to get the pair for like a 2nd round pick, considering what they’ve done to the Saints.
August 23rd, 2026 at 7:40 pm
Capt.Tim Says:
August 23rd, 2026 at 4:17 pm
Nelson has ALWAYS shown up. His problem hasn’t been lack of production. It’s lack of playing time. One of the many mysteries about Todd Bowles handling of the defense
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His probably is he shows up too often… on film as guys just run around him. The issue is he’s big and slow – but he can make tackles if people run right at him, and will pick up a handful of sacks as he’s 7′ 9″ with a 15 foot wingspan.
August 24th, 2026 at 1:53 am
They can cut Dennis, have no clue why they still keep this guy, other than maybe special teams. He’s not that good. It Nelson does show up when he plays, and Boweles should keep him.