Ryan Griffin has been a fun story to follow regarding the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but it seems like his time on the team is coming to an end.
Roster cuts are going to be the main focus for the Buccaneers over the next few months. Getting the numbers down to the league standard will be tough, and it looks like Ryan Griffin may be one of the players under the microscope.
Coming in as the third quarterback on the depth chart, Griffin wasn’t slated to see much playing time in 2020. Tom Brady and a seemingly-healthy Blaine Gabbert appear to be in full control of the top two spots, and if both go down, the franchise may look to go in a different direction than Griffin to salvage the season.
Griffin has always been an insurance policy against the worst-case scenarios, but it seems unlikely that he was ever seen as a legitimate option to lead the team. He has performed very well during the preseason when he gets his opportunities to do so, but he has only attempted four career passes in the NFL regular season.
Given that the Buccaneers have to make the most of their cap space, it is understandable that the third quarterback is one of the most likely to depart, especially with other options on the roster.
According to Scott Smith on Twitter, Bruce Arians discussed the possibility of rostering John Franklin as a wide receiver but using him as a third quarterback as well.
Bruce Arians says John Franklin is coming into the 2020 season as a wide receiver and could possibly serve as a 3rd QB on game days.
— Scott Smith (@ScottSBucs) July 28, 2020
Quotes like this make Griffin’s future in Tampa Bay appear that much more uncertain. Arians makes a great point. Why would the Bucs roster a third quarterback that doesn’t bring much to the table when they have the versatile Franklin on their roster who could perform just as well?
Realistically, if Brady and Gabbert do go down on the same game day, the Bucs have little to no chance of winning from their quarterback regardless. Griffin has been a great story to follow and is certainly exciting in the preseason, but moving on from the third quarterback for an additional roster spot seems to be more appropriate for a team pushing to make a playoff run.