2 Buccaneers running out of time to save their roster spots

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play their first preseason game later this week, meaning the battles for roster spots are about to heat up. 

The regular season is only a month away, and Tampa Bay will soon have to narrow its roster down from 90 players down to 53.

While some Buccaneers have already established themselves as roster locks, others haven’t done enough to secure their place on the team. Two Buccaneers in particular are running out of time to make their case and prove they belong on the roster entering the 2026 season. 

Chris Braswell and Devin Culp are on Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ roster bubble  

Chris Braswell, OLB

Braswell has been a major disappointment since being drafted in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Through two seasons, he’s recorded just 2.5 sacks. 

The outside linebacker room got a major revamp this offseason, with the team signing Al-Quadin Muhammad in free agency and drafting Rueben Bain Jr. with the No. 15 overall pick. 

Muhammad is coming off an 11-sack season in Detroit, and Bain is expected to be a day one starter opposite Yaya Diaby. Tampa Bay is also welcoming back David Walker from injury, and he’s been the biggest standout of training camp with eight straight practices with a sack. 

With Diaby, Bain, Muhammad, and Walker all locked in for the first four spots, Braswell could get squeezed off the roster. 

He’s competing with veteran Anthony Nelson for the fifth and likely final outside linebacker spot, but with Nelson sticking around on the team since 2019 and recording at least three sacks in five straight seasons, he surely has the upper hand. 

Braswell still has an opportunity to change the narrative, and the team wants him to succeed, but so far, he has all the makings of a draft bust. If he can’t perform for the remainder of training camp and the preseason, the Bucs could be forced to move on and let Braswell find a change of scenery and fresh start elsewhere.

Devin Culp, TE

Culp was drafted in the seventh round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He has the athleticism to develop into a dangerous receiving threat at the tight end position, but he’s simply failed to make any consistent impact.

Through two seasons, he’s recorded six receptions for 94 yards and a touchdown. 

The tight end room behind Cade Otton is starting to get crowded, and Culp could be on the outside looking in. The Buccaneers drafted Bauer Sharp with their sixth-round pick this year, and he’s been impressive all offseason throughout OTAs, minicamp and now training camp. 

Ko Kieft and Payne Durham are the other tight ends competing for roster spots, but each of their blocking abilities are far superior to Culp’s, making them more likely to see the field. Kieft’s value as a special teams ace, along with the one-year extension he signed earlier this offseason only further strengthens his case. 

If Culp can’t separate himself throughout the rest of training camp and the preseason, his time in Tampa Bay could be coming to an end.

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