Studs and duds from Buccaneers-Dolphins
By Ryan Doyle
Dud: Ryan Smith
The Dolphins picked on Ryan Smith early and often on Thursday night. During the first drive, Smith’s matchup was targeted on four straight plays as Miami quarterbacks seemed to find where he was lined up on the field and attacked from there.
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As two rookies in M.J. Stewart and Carlton Davis breathe down his neck, this isn’t the performance he needed to keep the starting role. He will have to have a big bounce-back performance if he doesn’t want to slip to the fourth or fifth spot on the depth chart.
On the bright side, he did seal the game with an interception on a desperation heave by Bryce Petty. He also led the team in tackles with seven and broke up one pass.
Stud: Sergio Bailey
The undrafted free agent wideout sat near the bottom of the Buccaneers depth chart heading into the preseason opener. He did all he could in his first NFL action as he hauled four receptions for 52 yards.
On the final drive, Bailey caught a pair of passes including a 20-yard reception to set Tampa Bay up in field goal range.
Although he still remains a long shot to make the final 53-man roster, Bailey may have propelled himself into a priority practice squad candidate. At the very least, he has earned more snaps in next week’s matchup against the Tennessee Titans.