A win is a win, even in the preseason. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers by a field goal in a slow, measured battle. There were a few bright spots in the game, including impressive performances from some of the team's rookies.
But behind the smiles, Todd Bowles and his staff should be truly concerned about one weakness in their roster.
The Bucs' depth at safety is a massive issue. Behind Antoine Winfield Jr. and Tykee Smith, they have no proven players capable of filling in. If just one of those two starters goes down, Tampa Bay's season could go off the rails.
Buccaneers' lack of safety depth sours preseason victory
When it's this easy to see how a team's season could fall apart, it's usually a bad sign. The Buccaneers are relying so heavily on the health of their starting two safeties that they've left no room on the roster for either of the two to miss significant time.
That's not a bet they should be making. Winfield was sidelined quite a bit in 2024 with various lower-body injuries. In fact, he's already battling hamstring tightness heading into the season. It looks like the Bucs' star should be ready for Week 1, but it's optimistic to expect him to play the whole season.
Winfield Jr.'s running mate in the secondary is second-year player Tykee Smith, who shined as a rookie but has had injury troubles of his own. Smith missed multiple games last season while dealing with a concussion and a knee issue.
Tampa Bay has no safety net behind those two. Kaevon Merriweather is the team's best option as a backup safety, and he struggled mightily in this weekend's game. Merriweather looked lost in coverage, allowing two catches for 36 yards. He's filled in for injured starters in the past and looked inconsistent at best.
Outside of him, undrafted rookies Shilo Sanders and J.J. Roberts were the Buccaneers' best options coming into camp. Sanders had two missed tackles against Pittsburgh, and Roberts is now out for the season with a knee injury. At this point, it's looking like Sanders will make the final roster by default rather than by his own merit.
The Bucs' safety room is just one or two steps away from being a complete disaster. Thankfully, there are a few veteran safeties available in free agency who could fill in if needed. But for now, this looks like a big problem.