Adam Humphries Working To Increase His Role

was one of the surprises last year when the Buccaneers’ receiving corps were decimated with injury. Despite his success, he is still working hard to increase his role for the upcoming season.

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By the end of last season, the Bucs receivers had turned into a group that the team had basically thrown a bandage on. Vincent Jackson went down with injuries and missed multiple games, Louis Murphy missed over half of the season with a torn ACL, and rookie Kenny Bell was on IR before the regular season started. With some of the top guys out, the Buccaneers were forced to lean on two unknown receivers for meaning snaps on offense, Donteea Dye and Adam Humphries.

Humphries quickly became a target for Jameis Winston and after playing in 13 games, he caught 27 passes for 260 yards and 1 TD. Now, those numbers don’t exactly jump off the page at you, but we’re talking about an undrafted guy out of Clemson who earned a spot on the Bucs 90 man roster via a tryout.

After getting a spot on the 90 man roster, he was still one of the lowest receivers on the depth chart and worked hard throughout training camp to earn a spot on the regular season roster. Eventually, he was sent down to the practice squad but was called back up to the regular season roster with the rash of injuries to other receivers.

Humphries earned his success last year and that hard work has made him the early favorite to win the punt returner job, and possibly the starting slot receiver position. When asked about the differences between this offseason and last offseason, Humphries noted how completely different they were per Buccaneers.com

"“It’s night and day out here, It’s a totally different feeling than last year. Obviously, this is my second year in the offense and I know a lot more. I feel a lot more comfortable with the playbook, and I know more guys in the locker room as well. It’s a big difference and I feel a lot better out here this year.”"

And as expected, he feels like a better player and thinks the Bucs have become a better team thus far in the offseason.

"“I do feel like I’m a better player, I feel like every year I need to improve and that’s what you have to do to stay in this league. I had a good offseason and I feel like so far in OTAs we’ve improved. Personally, I feel like I’ve improved and that I’ve performed well this offseason."

Humphries was also asked about how he felt about playing the slot receiver role, where he would be complimenting Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson.

"“I played a lot in the slot last year so that’s a position I feel comfortable in. Also, just having the ability to play outside, as well, to be able to play all three positions, is something I take pride in. I’m just trying to work on that.”"

He sounds like a very humble guy, and these are the kinds of players you want on your team. Guys that will work hard and give you everything they’ve got at every possible position they can play. Humphries returned punts for three years in college, so with his knowledge there I expect him to win the starting job returning punts. Depending on the way Louis Murphy recovers and how Kenny Bell performs in training camp, I can definitely see him nabbing the starting slot receiver job.

Next: Bucs Receivers: Strength Or Weakness

Regardless, it’s great to have such a high character guy as a Buccaneer and he has shown the fans and his teammates that hard work always will pay off.