3 Bucs players who are in danger of losing their job after NFL Draft
By Josh Hill
Now that the NFL Draft is wrapped up it’s time to look at some Buccaneers players who might be in danger of losing their roster spot.
It went by in a flash, but the NFL Draft has already come and gone. After all of the build up and the endless rumors, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a sturdy if not quiet draft this year.
The team didn’t trade up for a quarterback — in fact it didn’t draft one at all — and managed to fill some key positional areas with potential contributors. It’s impossible to judge this draft class without seeing any of the rookies play, but it’s also hard to not feel good about what the Bucs came away with.
Given Jason Licht’s excellent history with the draft, it’s safe to say the Bucs are early winners.
With the new faces, though, comes some competition that could mean players currently on the roster will be out of jobs in the near future. Not every rookie is going to start, and not all of them might get roster spots, but there’s going to be some training camp battles that might result in a veteran getting edged out.
Again, it’s early but there are a few players we can already tab as ones to keep an eye on now that the newest crop of Buccaneers rookies are preparing to fight their way onto the roster.
Buccaneers Rumors: Players who could lose their roster spot after NFL Draft
48. . Defensive End. Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Logan Hall. 3. player
Who takes his roster spot: Calijah Kancey, SirVocea Dennis, YaYa Diaby
A pair of Pitt players might put some pressure on Logan Hall to step up his game this offseason to truly earn his spot on the defensive line.
Part of this depends on where Calijah Kancey plays. He’s listed as a ‘defensive lineman’ but the Bucs appear to have him listed as a defensive end on their depth chart. That’s bad news for Hall, who didn’t really make a ton of noise last season despite there being ample opportunities for him to make some while the defense struggled.
Similar critiques have been made of Joe Tryon-Shoyinka although he showed more flash and we at least heard his name on occasion. Hall seemed like a ghost, and while it’s too early to say he’s a bust it’s not unfair to think that he could get replaced and passed over on the depth chart.
What works against Hall is that it’s unclear where he fits on the defensive line. He was drafted as a defensive end but he’s already been edged out of that role and is certainly not going to be getting reps over Kancey. He’s listed on some depth charts as a defensive tackle, but he’s both super light for that position and is buried behind other guys. The Bucs signed Greg Gaines to be the starting defensive tackle in free agency, and the line seems to be set with Kancey, Gaines, and Vita Vea.
YaYa Diaby was drafted on Day 2, and even he could get reps at defensive end over Hall. With there being that many guys who could play over him, Hall seems like he’s already on the roster bubble.