The Tampa Bay Buccaneers revealed their initial 53-man roster and practice squad earlier this week with the regular season fast approaching.
The Buccaneers' roster reveal included some surprises, with several unexpected moves standing out.
Biggest surprises on Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 53-man roster and practice squad
Sean Murphy-Bunting returns on practice squad
The return of Sean Murphy-Bunting is one of the most pleasant surprises of the offseason.
The veteran cornerback spent his first four seasons in Tampa Bay, and played a key role in the secondary, including three playoff interceptions to help the Bucs reach the Super Bowl during the 2020 season.
He blew out his knee last year and missed the entire 2025 season. He was poised to start for the Cardinals this year but they unexpectedly cut him, opening the door for a return to Tampa Bay.
The Bucs badly needed a veteran cornerback in the room, and they happened to land one with years of experience in Todd Bowles’ system that will be a great mentor for the younger guys in the cornerback room.
Undrafted rookie Caden Fordham makes 53-man roster
The Buccaneers liked what they saw from Caden Fordham enough to keep him as a fifth inside linebacker; who will contribute on special teams.
He finished the preseason with 14 tackles, including two tackles for loss, and a pass broken up.
He joined quarterback Jalon Daniels and cornerback Ayden Garnes as the three undrafted rookies to make the roster.
Moving on from Jake Browning
It wasn’t necessarily a huge surprise that Jake Browning lost the backup quarterback battle to standout rookie Jalon Daniels.
The real surprise is that Browning declined to return to the practice squad as the emergency third quarterback.
The expectation was that whoever lost the battle could return as the QB3, but Tampa Bay pivoted to Easton Stick, who spent last season in Atlanta under Zac Robinson, who’s bringing his former QB3 with him in the same role to the Buccaneers.
Keeping only three safeties on the 53-man roster
The Buccaneers’ final roster cut was veteran safety Ifeatu Melifonwu, leaving the team with only three safeties on the active roster.
The only backup behind Antoine Winfield Jr. and Tyler Smith is Miles Killebrew, who is more of a special teams ace than a reliable safety.
Tampa Bay did keep three safeties on the practice squad: Melifonwu, J.J. Roberts, and Rashad Wisdom. At least one of them will have the chance to be elevated to the active roster on gameday, so Tampa Bay will have plenty of options at the safety position.
Still, it came as a huge surprise when they opted to enter the season with just three on the 53-man roster.
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