The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will take the field today for their first of two joint practices with the Jacksonville Jaguars ahead of their preseason finale on Saturday night.
The deadline for teams to cut their roster down to 53 is Sunday, so players on the bubble have just days left to make their case for a roster spot.
Several Buccaneers in particular haven’t done enough to secure their roles, and they could find themselves on the chopping block without a strong end to training camp and preseason.
4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers who must impress vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
OLB Chris Braswell
Chris Braswell is in serious danger of being sent packing during roster cuts. The team had high hopes for Braswell after drafting him in the second round in 2024, but he’s recorded just 2.5 sacks in two seasons.
The Buccaneers bolstered their outside linebacker depth this offseason, adding Rueben Bain Jr. and Al-Quadin Muhammad while getting David Walker back from injury.
Braswell desperately needed to stand out during the team’s second preseason game, but he was sidelined with an injury. In his absence, both Anthony Nelson and Mohamed Kamara made plays off the edge, leaving Braswell even further in the dust.
The Bucs are likely to keep just five outside linebackers as they did a year ago, and Braswell might not even be in the top seven in the pecking order.
Unless he morphs into 2019 Shaq Barrett in the upcoming week, it’s inevitable that Braswell and the Bucs will part ways.
S JJ Roberts
JJ Roberts was one of Tampa Bay’s biggest preseason surprises last year. He came out of Marshall as an undrafted rookie and blew away the coaching staff with his versatility and playmaking ability.
He looked like a Christian Izien-esque super-sub in the secondary who could fill in at multiple positions and play a key depth role.
But a season-ending injury ended his rookie season before it began. Roberts has missed all of camp while working his way back from that injury, but the NFL waits for nobody. The team signed safeties Miles Killebrew and Ifeatu Melifonwu this offseason, while Rashad Wisdom has had a solid preseason.
Roberts is expected to practice with the team this week, and he’ll need to make up for lost time. The coaching staff still loves Roberts, so he should be penciled in for a practice squad spot at the very least. But if he wants to make the 53-man roster, he only has a few opportunities to make his presence felt and secure his spot.
TE Devin Culp
Devin Culp is clearly at the bottom of the tight end pecking order, and he’s running out of time to change his trajectory.
Culp’s claim to fame is his athleticism and receiving ability, but that hasn’t necessarily translated into production with just six catches through two seasons. Part of that is due to the offense’s lack of tight end usage, but that’s all the more reason why he could be expendable.
The Bucs value blocking at the tight end position, and both Ko Kieft and Payne Durham are far superior blockers to Culp. Rookie tight end Bauer Sharp has been a standout during training camp, and he’s also heralded for his blocking ability.
It’s hard to envision Culp beating out any of the players he’s competing with for a roster spot, and his best-case scenario seems to be earning a spot on the practice squad.
QB Jake Browning
Jake Browning is still the favorite to win the backup quarterback job behind Baker Mayfield, but he’s no longer the lock he once was.
Undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels has been the Bucs’ biggest star of the preseason. He’s already surged past Connor Bazelak for the QB3 job, and now, he’s turning up the pressure on Browning.
Browning needs to have a dominant week of practice and use the final preseason game to show why he deserves to be the QB2. If Daniels outplays him again, all Browning has going in his favor is his experience, and that might not be enough to beat out Daniels’ upside.
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