Category: Roster

Buccaneers GM Jason Licht credits HC Todd Bowles for roster transformation

Buccaneers GM Jason Licht shoveled some praise towards the team’s coaching staff and how they have developed the new-look roster.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers went all in a few years ago with veteran players led by Tom Brady as they pursued a Super Bowl. They achieved that goal, saw some players and coaches ride off into the sunset, and had to press the reset button.

On Friday, Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht praised the team’s coaching staff for developing the new-look roster.

Speaking with the team’s media, Licht acknowledged the role the coaching staff led by Todd Bowles has played in developing the team’s younger players.

“One thing [about] Todd [Bowles] and his coaches – they’re not afraid to play young guys and they love to develop young guys. That makes our job – my job – really easy, because we love young talent. We don’t love getting rid of older guys, that’s not the point. It’s [that] we want what’s best for the football team. . .we’re very happy with the way it’s worked, and now, we’re hoping to win this year, too.”

There are not many more healthy relationships in the NFL between a general manager and head coach than the one between Bowles and Licht in Tampa Bay. When a team has that sort of relationship, things are more fluid, and you see the results you can generate.

Both men now look toward the 2024 season, where they hope to build on a strong 2023 season that saw the team return to the playoffs.

Bucs sign 14 players to futures contracts for 2024

The Bucs are set to bring back a number of their practice squad staples with futures contracts next season.

2023 may be over for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but the team is getting ready for 2024.

The team announced on Tuesday that it has signed 14 players to futures contracts in the NFL. Essentially, a futures contract is exactly what it says on the tin — it’s a contract that guarantees the right to a player but doesn’t activate until the following league year. This is usually done to ensure that certain players stick with the team on the futures/reserve list and cannot negotiate with other squads.

Here’s the full list of players that signed a futures contract with the Bucs:

  • DL C.J. Brewer

  • T Silas Dzani
  • OL Luke Haggard
  • CB Keenan Isaac
  • WR Cephus Johnson III
  • RB Patrick Laird
  • S Richard LeCounte III
  • WR Ryan Miller
  • CB Quandre Mosely
  • OLB Jose Ramirez
  • OL Logan Stenberg
  • TE Tanner Taula
  • WR Raleigh Webb
  • TE David Wells

Only players who were not on the team’s active roster at the end of their season are eligible for a futures contract. As a result, all these players have been affiliated with the Bucs on their practice squad throughout the season, and all will return at training camp to compete for a spot on Tampa Bay’s 53-man roster for the 2024 season.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1364]

Bucs elevate WR David Moore to active roster ahead of Week 14

This is the third time Moore has been elevated this season.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are once again shoring up wide receiver depth ahead of their Week 14 matchup.

Greg Auman of FOX Sports reported Saturday that the Bucs intend to elevate wideout David Moore for their game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Moore has already been elevated twice before, so if the team wants to do it from here on out, they’d have to activate him to the active roster as per NFL rules.

Moore hasn’t contributed a catch in his last two outings, but he has played on special teams. The movie probably comes as a continued response to wideout Rakim Jarrett’s presence on injured reserve, as Tampa Bay is likely to use him as a safety net in the event that any of the Bucs’ wideouts are injured during the action in Week 14.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1364]

Bucs promote Keenan Isaac to active roster, sign David Wells to practice squad

Practice squad moves have increased as injuries have worsened for the Bucs.

The Bucs are shoring up their depth as injuries have begun to plague them.

The team announced on Thursday that cornerback Keenan Isaac has been elevated to the active roster. On top of that, the team re-signed tight end David Wells to the practice squad after cutting him the previous day.

Isaac’s promotion comes with grim tidings. Starting cornerback Jamel Dean recently suffered a bad ankle injury against the San Francisco 49ers, and while the team appears to have avoided something major, he’ll likely miss some time. Cornerback Carlton Davis is dealing with a hip injury, too, but he’ll likely play through it on Sunday.

Isaac hasn’t appeared in game for the Bucs this season. The team also has players like Derek Pitts Jr. to rely on, too, but the move gives the Bucs a few more options with its cornerback depth.

Bucs place WR Rakim Jarrett on injured reserve

The Bucs did not reveal what specific injury Jarrett is dealing with.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be without one of their wide receivers for at least four weeks.

The team announced on Wednesday that Bucs wideout Rakim Jarrett has been placed on injured reserve. The team did not specify what injury Jarrett has, nor did they announce a corresponding roster move to be made after the placement.

Jarrett has been relatively quiet this year, but he made his biggest play in Tampa Bay’s most recent game. In Week 11 against the 49ers, Jarrett caught a deep ball from QB Baker Mayfield for a 41-yard gain. Across the season, he’s been targeted nine times and caught four passes for 60 yards.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1364]

Tampa Bay waives DL Pat O’Connor

The move is a corresponding one to make way for Bucs QB John Wolford on the active roster.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are making room for their QB3.

Tampa Bay signed quarterback John Wolford to the active roster on Monday to avoid him being poached by the Los Angeles Rams, and that move had to come with a corresponding roster move. The Bucs made that move today, waiving veteran defensive tackle [autotag]Pat O’Connor[/autotag]. Should O’Connor go unclaimed on waivers, he can return to the Bucs practice squad after being signed back.

O’Connor was used frequently as a special teams player in prior years with the team, but he didn’t make the initial 53-man roster. He was elevated to the 53-man roster from the practice squad earlier in the year but has been a healthy scratch in Tampa Bay’s last three games.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1364]

Bucs sign QB John Wolford to active roster

The Los Angeles Rams attempted to sign Wolford Tuesday, but he informed them he’d rather stay in Tampa Bay.

The Buccaneers are signing practice squad quarterback John Wolford to their 53-man roster after the Los Angeles Rams attempted to sign him, according to Fox Sports’ Greg Auman.

The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported earlier that the Rams attempted to sign Wolford, but his preference was to stay in Tampa per Russini. Wolford was with Los Angeles from 2019 to 2022, starting four games in that span. With injuries impacting quarterback rooms across the league, the Bucs could not afford to lose depth, particularly as Baker Mayfield is dealing with a knee contusion.

The Bucs already have 53 players on the active roster so a corresponding move will be incoming. A likely move will be to cut defensive lineman Pat O’Connor, who was himself activated off the practice squad in late September but has not been active since Week 4.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1364]

 

CBS Sports proposes big trade deal for Bucs in 2023

Do you think the Bucs should try and make this trade before the deadline?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ run game has suffered for two seasons now, but could a new running back help change that? Some pundits seem to think so.

CBS Sports proposed 15 different trades for the upcoming NFL trade deadline, and the very first one involved the Bucs. Writer Cody Benjamin proposed a trade that would have the Tennessee Titans send running back Derrick Henry to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for Tampa Bay’ third-round pick for 2024.

Here is what CBS Sports said about a potential Derrick Henry trade:

The Buccaneers are feisty this year, but they’re also one of the game’s worst rushing teams, which is a problem when you lean so much on ball-control and defense. The bulldozing Henry is on an expiring deal for a stumbling Titans franchise half-committed to a rebuild, and he might welcome a sunnier change of scenery before a return to the open market in 2024.

It’s true that Tampa Bay’s running backs aren’t exactly working with what they have in the run game, but that’s been a very small part of the problem for the Bucs’ running game. Tampa Bay’s interior line is the major reason why the run game suffers, and it’s unknown if a back like Derrick Henry would really move the needle if that’s the main issue.

On top of that, as Benjamin wrote, Henry is scheduled to become a free agent in 2024. Spending a third-round pick for a half-year rental of Derrick Henry when the Bucs aren’t quite ready to go to the Super Bowl anyway might be ill-advised.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1364]

Bucs to sign OG Logan Stenberg to practice squad

The Bucs are shoring up offensive line depth with a new additon to the practice squad.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are addressing defensive line depth with a practice squad signing.

ESPN reporter Jeremy Fowler reported on Tuesday that the Bucs are expected to sign offensive guard Logan Stenberg to their practice squad. Tampa Bay has a free spot on the practice squad after the team released offensive lineman John Molchon earlier in the week.

Stenberg was a fourth-round pick for the Detroit Lions in 2020 coming out of Kentucky. He started four games for the Lions last year before being picked up and subsequently waived by the Chicago Bears in 2023. Stenberg tried out for the Bucs last week and is now officially being signed to the practice squad following that.

Luke Goedeke expected to play “somewhere on the line” in 2023

Head coach Todd Bowles spoke on the team’s plans for Goedeke at the annual NFL meeting in Arizona.

The Bucs’ offensive line is largely a question mark coming into 2023, and coach Todd Bowles discussed one particular unknown on that front at the annual NFL meetings in Arizona.

Bowles was asked about plans for offensive lineman [autotag]Luke Goedeke[/autotag] for the upcoming season, and while Bowles didn’t seem to know what position he would play just yet, he appeared confident that Goedeke would get playing time on the line for 2023. Here is what Bowles said on the Bucs lineman who will be heading into his second year in 2023:

“I thought Luke started out learning and I think he is a very physical football player. I think he is going to help us this year. He is going to play somewhere on the line. We are not quite sure where yet. You really like him at guard, then he showed he can really play tackle at the end of the year so depending on the Draft and how the rest of free agency goes, we will find one of the two spots for him, but it is good to have the versatility.”

Goedeke got playing time in 2022, his rookie year, but much of it was not pretty. He had a rocky start at left guard to start the year, and after he suffered a foot injury in the team’s first game against Carolina, he was subsequently phased out for Bucs lineman Nick Leverett. Goedeke will have ample opportunity to prove himself in 2023, but exactly where on the line he’s set to do that appears to be under consideration for now.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbw5aerff6ff182 player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]