The Tampa Bay Buccaneers might have the deepest wide receiver room in all of football, and so far in training camp, it's shown. This coaching staff has a tough job ahead of them as they figure out just how many to keep, and which names to leave off the roster.
One Buccaneers reporter continued to bring a specific rookie to our attention after a recent practice, though, and to no one's surprise it was seventh-round pick Tez Johnson. Greg Auman had this to say in response to a fan stating Johnson was a roster lock:
"... seventh-round picks aren't usually locks at all, but Tez Johnson feels like he's in good shape, especially if he can secure a return job."
Auman went on to note that the preseason will play a major part, of course, but Johnson very well could be the Bucs' WR5 if all goes well. Again, this is not a shock to fans who have been paying attention. Johnson has said and done all of the right things since Day 1 and is incredibly easy to cheer for.
The majority of this fan base likely believes he's going to make this roster, and Auman simply confirmed those sentiments.
Tez Johnson is forcing the Buccaneers to think about a training camp trade
With the rookie balling out in training camp, Johnson is now forcing the Buccaneers to re-think their wide receiver room. How do they keep all of the talent they've accumulated?
In short: they can't.
Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Emeka Egbuka and Jalen McMillan aren't going anywhere. But, what about Sterling Shepard, Trey Palmer, Rakim Jarrett or Kameron Johnson?
In all likelihood, Shepard ends up on the practice squad. And, of the remaining three names, it would make sense for the Bucs to try and trade Palmer. If Johnson makes this roster as a seventh-round pick, and the Bucs can get something in return for Palmer, I'd call that a successful series of events for Jason Licht.
Keep an eye out for the Bucs to be involved in the trade market in the coming days, especially with training camp injuries starting to mount around the league.