Da’Quan Bowers will enter his fourth Tampa Bay regular season as a Buccaneer.

Announcing your Buccaneers 53-man roster for 2014 — for now.

Veteran safety Major Wright, who was battling a back ailment, was a surprise cut, along with wide receiver Solomon Patton. The rookie appeared to win the returner job in preseason, and he had a nifty touchdown catch-and-run on Thursday, a play Lovie Smith recognized as one of the true highlights. Joe suspects Lovie saw enough from Bobby Rainey to turn the returner duties over to him — for now. [read more]

Currently, Bucs fans are fixated on the look of the final 53-man roster. The deadline is 4 p.m. today and fans are all worked up about what moves Bucs general manager Jason Licht may make.

(And, no, Joe doesn’t give a whip who will be on the Bucs’ 10-man practice squad. Yes, Joe knows there is a practice squad cult out there, for reasons Joe cannot quite comprehend. Only a sorry team led by Raheem Morris sweats over who will be on the practice squad.) [read more]

Final cuts are coming by 4 p.m., and the Bucs officially have eight to go. However, reports leaking out via various sources claim track star/former Gators running back Jeff Demps has gotten the boot. [read more]

Officially, the Bucs have eight more bodies to clear from the roster by 4 p.m.

Here’s Joe’s morning call on the final eight, and some surprise keepers. [read more]

 Gerald McCoy talks about how good Lovie Smith’s defense is for him

During his tour of NFL training camps, NPR-listening, filthy-hotel-staying, fight-instigating, barista-training, pedestrian-bumping, olive oil-lapping, popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried-chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, circle-jerking, beer-chugging, cricket-watching, scone-loathing, college football-naïve, baseball box score-reading Peter King, of theMMQB.com and NBC Sports fame decided to give specific players on each team a one-question interview.

In this theMMQB.com video, King hits up Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. [read more]

Da’Quan Bowers offers his thoughts on recently released teammates

The Bucs, thus far today, have cut 12 players in their quest to get to the league-mandated 53-man roster by tomorrow at 4 p.m.. It looks like 10 more will meet the Grim Reaper in the coming hours.

As as the sun begins to set on the Gulf of Mexico, turning the western horizon brillant shades of red, orange and pink, one playe is giving his thanks to a higher authority for such beauty, and for his own good fortunes. [read more]

Connor Barth is a darn good kicker, but he’ll be kicking for another team in 2014.

Per WDAE-AM 620, the Buccaneers’ flagship station, Barth has gotten the boot from the roster.

It seems undrafted, inexperienced Patrick Murray won the job — or Jason Licht has a move in store. [read more]

Cornerback Mike Jenkins has been roaming around Bucs practice and game sidelines for 30 days with a floppy fat instead of a helmet.

Amazingly, Lovie Smith is still super high on him and said so today at One Buc Palace. [read more]

Preparation for the Carolina Panthers is in full swing, but it seems like it’s happening without offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford. [read more]

Updated: 2:29 p.m. Highlighting this latest round of slicing is one of the chosen three, Jamon Meredith, one of only three unrestricted free agents the Bucs re-signed this offseason. Another was Danny Gorrer, who was released with an injury settlement earlier this week. [read more]

It’s great to know Richie Incognito has multiple personalities. That can come in handy on a job interview.

Last night, Bucs general manager Jason Licht told Bucs fans how Incognito “impressed” him this week during their meeting. And earlier, a Bucs rookie shared his tender offseason moments with Incognito. [read more]

Ronde Barber gives a reference

Lovie Smith signed inconsistent veteran cornerback Mike Jenkins this offseason and has never once wavered on the importance of Jenkins, who was atop Lovie’s cornerbacks depth chart all summer.

But the problem is Jenkins hasn’t been on a field since July because of an undisclosed leg injury. [read more]

Lovie Smith weighs in

Well, that sieve of an offensive line sure got fixed in a hurry, didn’t it? With the trade for Logan Mankins, it is clear who will be the starting left guard when the Bucs host the Stinking Panthers a week from Sunday.

But what about right guard? Some believe Patrick Omameh is the default starter. He couldn’t be worse than Oneil Cousins, could he? [read more]

Louis Murphy didn’t return after a nasty hit last night. (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Wide receiver Louis Murphy took an ugly hit on the sidelines in the second half of last night’s game. He didn’t return and was classified as having a lower back injury.

That probably locked up a roster spot for Chris Owusu, and possibly another receiver. [read more]

Bucs coach Lovie Smith is not happy with his stable of linebackers.

Joe thinks he can go on record saying the Bucs’ first-team defense is strong. From the day Lovie took over, Joe has not been concerned about the defense.

But, like many football teams, you are only as strong as your bench. When injuries mount — and there will be injuries — a stinky bench is exposed pretty damned quickly. [read more]

It’s going to be awfully hard to keep linebacker Danny Lansanah off the final 53-man roster. The bell tolls at 4 p.m. Saturday, but that may not stop the Bucs from releasing guys as early as Friday.

Whenever Lansanah is on the field, he doesn’t just make plays, he makes big plays, whether it is a crushing tackle or forcing takeaways, a fetish of Bucs coach Lovie Smith. [read more]

RB Jeff Demps (32) takes a handoff from Mike Kafka in the second half Thursday. Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.

Before the preseason began, the Bucs pounded their chests that they helped coerce Olympic track star and part-time football player Jeff Demps to give up track and play football full-time.

Specifically, play football for the Bucs full-time. [read more]

Jorvorskie Lane gets high praise

The fullback position has become a dinosaur in the NFL. Perhaps the Bucs should nickname Jorvorskie Lane “Stegosaurus.”

Lane seems an absolute lock for the 53-man roster. [read more]