The Tampa Bay Buccaneers unveiled their initial 53-man roster today after cutting over 30 players in preparation for the 2026 season.
One of the players the Buccaneers moved on from was Chris Braswell — the team’s 2024 second-round pick.
The #Bucs are releasing edge Chris Braswell, their second-rounder from 2024. pic.twitter.com/keiI1j36XR
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 30, 2026
It’s a disappointing end to Braswell’s short stint in Tampa Bay, but this was a necessary decision for the Buccaneers as they move forward with a revamped pass rush rotation that simply had no room for Braswell.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers release former second-round pick Chris Braswell
Through two seasons in Tampa Bay, Braswell notched just 2.5 sacks. He never lived up to the lofty expectations placed on him as a second-round pick.
As he failed to blossom, the Bucs couldn’t afford to be patient in his development. They completely overhauled the outside linebacker room this offseason, signing Al-Quadin Muhammad and drafting Rueben Bain Jr., while getting David Walker back from injury.
Those three additions pushed Braswell further down the depth chart and made it a foregone conclusion that he wouldn’t make the cut.
It remains to be seen whether Braswell will stick around on the practice squad, or if both sides will look for a change of scenery. Braswell still boasts second-round pedigree after all, and could draw interest from teams who are desperate for pass rush help.
For the Bucs, it’s the end of a frustrating era, and Braswell will go down as one of Jason Licht’s most disappointing draft picks. Braswell was expected to be an instant contributor and help breathe life into a lackluster pass rush, but he failed to make any impact whatsoever.
By the end of his time in Tampa Bay, Braswell likely wasn’t even a top seven player on the depth chart. He was outplayed by undrafted rookie Jack Pyburn or practice squad hopeful Mohamed Kamara. Even undrafted rookie Yasir Holmes made a bigger impact with a solid preseason.
On paper, this is arguably the deepest pass rush the Buccaneers have assembled since their 13-4 season in 2021. Unless Braswell quickly made a miraculous jump, he was always likely to get shown the door this offseason.
There’s still time for Braswell to change the narrative and carve out a successful NFL career. He’s still only 24 years old, and has plenty of talent to develop, but the Buccaneers are entering a make-or-break season and head coach Todd Bowles is on the hot seat. He couldn’t afford to wait another year in hopes that Braswell would finally become the player they expected him to be.
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