Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been adding to the roster all offseason long, and with only a few players leaving Tampa Bay, that meant the team needed to thin out the roster a bit to get under the current 90 player roster limit. That means that some players may have to be let go, and today the Buccaneers made the unfortunate announcement that some members of the team may have seen their last days in pewter and red.
Those moves: G Derek Hardman, DT Corvey Irvin & CB James Rogers were waived. TE Drake Dunsmore & K Nate Kaeding retired.
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) May 2, 2013
Derek Hardman’s release is not a surprise, as he was well behind the rest of the interior linemen on the depth chart, with Ted Larsen holding a commanding lead on the backup guard/center position.
Corvey Irvin was a player I thought showed a bit of promise this past season in his brief moments on the field, but with Akeem Spence and Derek Landri joining the roster, Irvin’s days quickly became numbered.
James Rogers was obviously on his way out the door when Eric Wright was secured for 2013, Darrelle Revis and Johnthan Banks were acquired, and the Bucs focused their undrafted free agent signings on the position as well.
The two retirements are certainly surprising, as Kaeding is one of the better kickers of this generation who suffered an injury and never returned to form. The Buccaneers are still likely to add a second kicker to compete over the offseason, but it won’t be a kicker as proven as Kaeding.
Dunsmore was a practice squad tight end who was placed on injured reserve late in 2012, his first year in the league. The Northwestern product retired, and while it’s unclear if the injury he suffered is involved, it’s not unheard of for young players to retire before getting a chance to step on the field in the NFL. Former Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch walked away from football by announcing his retirement before the start of his rookie season.
The Buccaneers also added the following players to the team to compete for a roster spot despite not being selected in the 2013 NFL Draft (courtesy of buccaneers.com):
| 04/29/2013 | Agreed to terms with undrafted free agent WR Tim Wright. |
| 04/29/2013 | Agreed to terms with undrafted free agent T Nick Speller. |
| 04/29/2013 | Agreed to terms with undrafted free agent T Jason Weaver. |
| 04/29/2013 | Agreed to terms with undrafted free agent G Adam Smith. |
| 04/29/2013 | Agreed to terms with undrafted free agent CB Branden Smith. |
| 04/29/2013 | Agreed to terms with undrafted free agent WR D.J. Monroe. |
| 04/29/2013 | Agreed to terms with undrafted free agent RB Akeem Shavers. |
| 04/29/2013 | Agreed to terms with undrafted free agent LB Willie Moseley. |
| 04/29/2013 | Agreed to terms with undrafted free agent T Brice Schwab. |
| 04/29/2013 | Agreed to terms with undrafted free agent TE Evan Landi. |
| 04/29/2013 | Agreed to terms with undrafted free agent CB Rashaan Melvin. |
| 04/29/2013 | Agreed to terms with undrafted free agent WR Jerry Johnson. |
| 04/29/2013 | Agreed to terms with undrafted free agent CB Deveron Carr. |
Carr is the player to keep the closest eye on, because he is the most highly pursued member of this group, as he was offered a signing bonus to join the team for offseason workouts and training camp. You can click the links on each players’ name to see their Buccaneers.com profile.
We will keep you updated as we hear more from offseason workouts, so stay tuned all offseason for more Buccaneers’ information.