Buccaneers veterans on the hot seat going into training camp
By Rob Leeds
The Buccaneers have a toss up
Scotty Miller or Jaelon Darden
No matter how you break it down, it seems hard to imagine the Bucs will have the space to keep Scotty Miller and Jaleon Darden by the end of camp.
While these two guys bring something different to the table as receivers, they do seem like the odd guys out after weak 2021 seasons.
Miller was hurt for most of the season and should get the benefit of the doubt after his 2020 performance, but that doesn’t fully explain his disappearance in the playoffs without Chris Godwin, and it also doesn’t justify keeping a small receiver that only plays on the outside and gets vertical.
This skillset is easier to replicate than most Buccaneers fans would care to admit.
On the other side, Darden was just bad as a rookie. Whether he was on special teams or on offense, most of the time Darden was on the field we spent wishing he wasn’t. The Bucs are unlikely to cut a fourth-round rookie after just one bad season, but what do they do if he doesn’t look convincing in camp?
One way or another, the Buccaneers can probably only justify keeping one of these guys. There are just too many mouths to feed in the rest of the unit, and Tom Brady needs consistency.
We expect Darden to stay for our money, but a great camp from Miller and a bad one from Darden could easily change things.