Reaction To Initial 53-Man Roster
August 31st, 2026
Bucs TE Bauer Sharp earned a roster spot.
OK, the Bucs now have their initial 53-man roster. Joe expects this to change by the time the team begins practice next week for the Bengals.
There really weren’t many surprises for Joe:
* Joe expected bust Chris Braswell would be cut. But there was still something in the back of Joe’s head that thought maybe, just maybe, Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht might keep Braswell to give him one more shot. Remember, the NFL is not fantasy football. The Bucs had an investment in Braswell. Guess it shows how bad he is that the Bucs were willing to wash their hands of him after just two seasons. Remember, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka got four seasons. Then again, the Bucs had more Team Glazer loot invested in JTS than Braswell.
* Joe expected tight ed Devin Culp to get cut. And that’s sad. Culp might be one of those weird dudes who doesn’t show much (if anything) in practice, but put the guy in a game and he makes plays. Nearly every time — which wasn’t often — Culp got into a game with the Bucs he made a play. In practices with the pads on, he was pretty much invisible. Joe knew the writing was on the wall when Bauer Sharp was making plays each and every practice, sometimes getting snaps with the first team. Meanwhile, Culp might make two or three plays a week in practice and he was mired on the third- and sometimes fourth-team offense.
*Another guy Joe expected to be cut was Elijah Klein. Just because he was a smaller-school guy that Jason Licht picked on the third-day of the draft, Joe sort of had hopes for him. Joe types this often and it seems folks don’t want to believe Joe, but Klein simply never looked like an NFL offensive lineman (Joe saw him plenty of times in the locker room). Yes, Joe knows what his measurements are, but if you ever saw Klein in real life, in person without pads, you’d be hard-pressed to believe he was an NFL offensive lineman. Fullback, sure. Tight end, maybe. But guard? Joe thinks eventually, that’s what did him in. He simply did not have the build of an NFL offensive lineman.
* For a while there, Joe was wondering if receiver Dean Patterson might just give Kam Johnson a run for the last wide receiver spot. Joe is guessing Patterson didn’t play well enough on special teams, which is Johnson’s alleged forte. Joe heard a great line from famed national radio host JT the Brick on Sunday night. He said while discussing cuts that his show is “not a practice squad show but a champions show.” And this here site is not a practice squad site but a champion site — Joe will not rest soundly or be happy until the Bucs win a Super Bowl. But Joe expects Patterson will be on the Bucs’ practice squad, for whatever that is worth.
* Joe wonders if edge rusher Jack Pyburn will be on the field Saturday night when LSU hosts Clemson? Joe would be so PO’ed if he got benched by scummy Lane Kiffin. Nothing against Pyburn, but a dude busts his arse all offseason and through training camp and earns a starting spot and a guy shows up on Monday and you’re benched right before a nationally televised prime time game — only because the other guy got cut from his NFL team? Joe would be furious. Like, “Up yours, Lane, I’m going to play for Bama.”
* Anyone remember when safety J.J. Roberts was a thing? Joe remembers when (some) folks were hyperventilating over him last year. To be fair to Roberts, he blew out a knee in a controlled scrimmage at Pittsburgh last summer. So he may not be 100 percent recovered quite.
* Yo, Rondé, what happened with running back Josh Williams?
* Joe was slightly surprised Rashad Wisdom wasn’t kept. He had a solid camp and worthless preseason. The Bucs have just one backup safety on the roster (currently). So while the Bucs are scary thin at corner, they aren’t exactly stocked with safety depth.
August 31st, 2026 at 12:06 am
Backups are backups for a reason…
If Baker goes down, Season is DONE!
Unless by some miracle the Bucs find a much better option at QB2..
August 31st, 2026 at 12:24 am
Nothing is set in stone.
August 31st, 2026 at 12:30 am
They’ll add a safety. They really have to unless Scott is going to be the backup. Killebrew isn’t know for playing defense, so I doubt they’re counting on him. Maybe swap out SVD for a safety.
August 31st, 2026 at 12:33 am
Bucs will live to regret they did not sign Pyburn to the 53
August 31st, 2026 at 12:35 am
surprised simmons or didn’t get sent to the practice squad in favor of pepe williams, melifonwu, or wisdom. maybe one will and the bucs will pick up bunting. i’d be happy with that call.
I think bowles considers scott someone who can play at safety in a pinch. he loves his swim army knife DBs.
August 31st, 2026 at 12:35 am
simmons or *nacho
August 31st, 2026 at 12:42 am
Daniels will be fine as QB2. He had one bad outing and 2 very good outings.
We will be fine if Baker goes down, even if he Daniels has 1 bad outing out of 3. That would be an 11-6 or 12-5 record if the D plays decent.
August 31st, 2026 at 12:43 am
Don’t see why you don’t keep Melifonwu when you don’t have a true backup S. Maybe they expect a better player to be cut somewhere else… (?)
August 31st, 2026 at 1:08 am
I can’t believe people are really talking about bringing SMB back… The dude couldn’t stay healthy when young and you think he’s gonna be able to stay healthy now. It’s simply name recognition. Hopefully there is someone out there that can help us. If it’s him I’m a Bucs fan and will cheer for him just still remember him being hurt often.
August 31st, 2026 at 1:08 am
I like this roster a lot for a start but obviously a QB, CB and S are going to be added.
Josh Johnson would be my choice of veteran QB to add. I don’t see Mayfield leaving the field unless he loses multiple limbs in this contract year/revenge tour of his but the Bucs need someone who can be an asset to him and unready but exciting Mr. Daniel’s or start a game before the bye week. That is all. No need to go chasing Levis, Gabriel, McCarthy or anyone else. Except for Luke Altmeyer who I would love to see on the Bucs practice squad.
SMB is beyond perfect to be the last CB and Kaeveon Merriweather is a safety familiar with the scheme who doesn’t have a job at the moment either.
A less discussed position I think could make a quietly outsized difference is punter. Is 34 year old former All-Pro Johnny Hecker an upgrade over Riley Dixon? Dixon’s mechanics are still slower than Leftwich’s wind-up though his leg is presently stronger. What difference does it make how far the ball gets punted when the coverage team can’t tackle anyway? Danny Smith can only do so much. Call me a snob but I’d love a less-blockable punter.
I like the OL depth except for Feeny. These guys will do.
Same goes for ILB surprisingly. I’m thrilled the Bucs landed both a high pick and UDFA worthy of the 53. I still despise their choice of high pick but I love seeing almost all new names at that position. If they cut any of this group let it be Dennis. That hit on Godwin in camp and his in game failures have me thinking he is due a fresh start elsewhere.
WR is stacked and the RBs are all worthy of touches and being a part of the offense. Robinson has toys galore.
Edge is another group I feel great about especially if the Bucs keep Kamara on IR and the DT group is a great mix of old and young that I like but would love to add some beef to somehow soon.
This is almost a championship roster. Almost…
August 31st, 2026 at 1:30 am
Interesting notes on Elijah Klein. I recall the scouting reports on him at the time saying he had a traditional guard body (ie, short with short arms) – but would need to add strength to play at the NFL level. I never saw him in person, and trust your observations. It was just a 6th round pick, but it seemed odd at the time since Licht pretty much exclusively drafts college tackles, since they’re always always tall guys with the ability to add strength and weight, and then Licht will move them to guard. He’s had a ton of success doing that. I guess he won’t be back on the PS.
They’ve changed the PS rules so much, I don’t really know who can go on it and who can’t anymore, but who knows about Culp, maybe he’s back once again. I still never understood why they just didn’t have him drop a little weight and move him to WR, seemed like a more natural position for him.
Rashad Wisdom always looked a bit slow to me. Looking up his number, I didn’t realize he was that short (5′ 8″). He did run a 4.56 — that’s borderline for a safety, but not too slow, but very close. I’d assume the Bucs are looking to bring in a veteran off the waivers, or if no one is available, maybe even Wisdom is back. With only 5 corners and 3 safeties, they’ll certainly add at least one more defensive back.
August 31st, 2026 at 1:32 am
Bucs4ya Says:
August 31st, 2026 at 1:08 am
I can’t believe people are really talking about bringing SMB back… The dude couldn’t stay healthy when young and you think he’s gonna be able to stay healthy now. It’s simply name recognition.
———-
Have you looked at the depth chart and who is available? Bringing in a vet, who knows the system, is about as good of an option as there is. In any case, even if he gets hurt, you buy yourself time to get guys up to speed on the PS.
August 31st, 2026 at 3:59 am
Merriweather is available and many cbs got released
August 31st, 2026 at 4:27 am
“Joe wonders if Jack Pyburn will be on the field Saturday night when LSU hosts Clemson? Joe would be so PO’ed if he got benched by scummy Lane Kiffin for Pyburn.”
Who is “he?”
I’m guessing “he” is an unnamed player who, after busting his “arse,” will be benched if Pyburn returns to LSU, right?
Not professing to be a syntax guru, but it took reading the Pyburn paragraph three times for me to attempt to grasp its meaning.
Legit question. For a time I was thinking Pyburn was getting benched for Pyburn.
Joe referring to Joe as “he” is very confusing and out of character. Joe tries not to do that. –Joe
August 31st, 2026 at 4:46 am
They are banking on the pass rush the cbs and safeties will be reading and reacting it’s hard to get hurt if life is that easy,either that or they have someone on the radar after cuts.
August 31st, 2026 at 4:49 am
Baur sharp is a man and he uses gloves, Cade otton count your days he is faster than you and more athletic he is definitely going to be a chain mover
August 31st, 2026 at 6:00 am
The cutdown was as expected. There wasn’t a big surprise nor did we lose anyone of great value.
August 31st, 2026 at 6:13 am
The Bucs secondary currently has less depth than a kiddie pool, but sure, what could possibly go wrong? Todd Bowles looked at five corners and three safeties and said, “Perfect. Now give me 14 more pass rushers.” Pyburn went from fighting for an NFL roster spot to possibly starting in LSU-Clemson. That’s one hell of a waiver claim by college football. Elijah Klein apparently looked more like a fullback than a guard. Jason Licht finally discovered a position he couldn’t convert somebody into.
August 31st, 2026 at 6:39 am
If you want to see how a franchise does it and makes it fun for fans, while winning in a tough division look to the LA rams. They’ve been relevant for a while……they still draft well and are aggressive in free agency.
August 31st, 2026 at 6:46 am
This is almost the exact 53 I expected. I was thinking they would keep “Pepe” Williams and one less O-lineman, though.
August 31st, 2026 at 7:42 am
7 defensive tackles but only 3 safeties that makes no sense at all
August 31st, 2026 at 8:23 am
Dean Patterson is such a great story. He’s a local kid that got to the NFL playing for his home town team. I wanted that kid to end up on the 53 like nobody else.
August 31st, 2026 at 8:34 am
Hope they sign Culp, Patterson and Williams to the PS. I thought Sharp looked pretty bad in preseason games. At least when given the chance Culp made plays in games. Pretty obvious the guy hates training camp but shows up in games.
August 31st, 2026 at 8:37 am
Bucs need 2 Vet CBs and a vet safety. Guys who have actually played in nfl games.
August 31st, 2026 at 8:47 am
Why did they even draft Chris Braswell, Joe? What stood out on tape making him a second round pick?
August 31st, 2026 at 8:52 am
I recall Kionte Scott can play some safety, but Bucs remain very thin in secondary. I guess the hope at OBP is that whoever they find dumpster diving is better than who they’ve cut. And presumably the PS will be loaded with CBs, WRs, a RB and a QB. The DLine is pretty stacked, especially if Kancey can stay healthy. Fingers crossed the OLine stays healthy, the backups are scary.
August 31st, 2026 at 9:25 am
If I’m Jason Licht, here are the next moves I’m making:
1. Sign Will Levis, cut Sirvocea Dennis.
2. Sign Sean Murphy-Bunting, cut DeMonte Capehart.
3. We still need safety depth. Cut probably Billy Schrauth to free the space.
August 31st, 2026 at 9:44 am
BuccoMarty Says:
August 31st, 2026 at 9:25 am
They’re not letting Capehart go. Period. He’s a super talented guy that they invested a draft pick in this year. They have plans for him.
August 31st, 2026 at 10:11 am
I am sure a few of those cut will be back on the practice squad. The numbers on safety and CB are likely to change me thinks. However, keeping ten on the O line?
I get it but…Wow
Surprised that they cut Pyburn. Could be that the Bucs FO knows more than us experts do. Still stinks like the Red tide blowing off of Tampa Bay! Hope LSU loses every single game this year. Kiffin is even more of an asshat than I thought.
Go Bucs!
August 31st, 2026 at 10:50 am
10 on the oline was about the fact that some of those guys a little nicked up.
Pyburn was numbers. Carrying 6 at OLB would be a little rich.
I’m not totally sure they’ll sign a vet CB. They have 5 young guys they like, and they’re not getting rid of any of them. A 6th CB? Maybe.
Safety depth is a little scary. Moves will be made, and I guess Wisdom and/or Melifonwu on the practice squad can serve as depth as gameday elevations.
August 31st, 2026 at 11:12 am
Rod Munch
“Have you looked at the depth chart and who is available? Bringing in a vet, who knows the system, is about as good of an option as there is. In any case, even if he gets hurt, you buy yourself time to get guys up to speed on the PS”
Anybody can be taught to stand off the receiver 15 yards and watch them run by.
August 31st, 2026 at 11:31 am
I seem to remember Jose Ramirez getting three sacks in a preseason game then never seeing the field before getting cut. Who knows if Pyburn is any better. The Bucs are set at OLB, in any case.
They really need another DB or two. Zyon can play safety, too, but they are thin at corner. Keeping just two safeties plus the rookie nickel seems like a risky plan.
August 31st, 2026 at 12:24 pm
Overall depth at DB seems incredibly thin. Same for ILB
August 31st, 2026 at 12:52 pm
There are so many landmines to torpedo the Bucs season bc of lack of depth at so many positions. Not sure how other teams find piece parts to make their teams respectable, but when Buc’s starters go down, the team goes in the toilet.
August 31st, 2026 at 12:54 pm
ILB depth? Roseboom has been a decent starter in the league. And Caden Fordham looked like pretty good player in preseason. I don’t know why they kept SVD.
August 31st, 2026 at 1:05 pm
ILB?
Not even a Top 3 issue.
CB, S, QB, O Line
Still a couple years away.
August 31st, 2026 at 2:02 pm
Here’s a thought… the Seahawks cut Trevon Diggs with a plan to bring him back to the practice squad. The Bucs can go back in and pull him from Seattle’s practice squad to our 53, if there’s money to do so.
Risky move on the Seahawks’ part. Rewarding if the Bucs wait until he’s on a cheap practice squad salary and the Bucs snap him up.
August 31st, 2026 at 6:07 pm
When you get a guy from another team’s practice squad, you do not get him for practice squad money. He has to be signed to your 53 man roster and a whole new contract is negotiated. If Diggs doesn’t like the money offered by the Bucs, he doesn’t have to sign with the Bucs and can stay on the practice squad or sign with another team that makes a better offer.
August 31st, 2026 at 6:12 pm
Diggs was already on a cheap contract. He signed earlier this month for $1.215 million (veteran minimum with no guaranteed money) with up to $2 million more in incentives based on playing times and number of interceptions. He is now officially on the Seahawks practice squad making veteran practice squad money.