Buccaneers release rising young cornerback amid brutal roster cuts

With the regular season arriving in a few weeks, the ritual sacrificing of thousands of players from rosters across the NFL is underway.

Teams have until Tuesday to cut their training camp rosters down to 53 players, which means tough decisions are being made all over the league. The better the roster, the harder the cuts are, which is what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are experiencing after a solid preseason.

Depth of talent is what helped keep the season afloat last year, and was one of the big reasons Tampa Bay pulled itself out of a 1-6 slump to eventually make it all the way to the NFC Divisional Round. That same depth is what is making some of the decisions the Bucs are making ahead of the deadline sting a little more than usual.

Buccaneers release Keenan Isaac despite a solid preseason

There's no subtle way to put it -- there was a bloodbath over the weekend, with Tampa Bay releasing 18 players on Sunday before cutting even deeper on Monday. Among those players released was second-year cornerback Keenan Isaac, who had started to make a name for himself just before getting waived.

There were a handful of tough decisions that needed to be made thanks to how deeply talented a few position groups were, and cornerback was near the top of that list. The Bucs replaced Carlton Davis III with Zyon McCollum and are running back Jamel Dean as the team's top corner, with second-year player Josh Hayes and free agent Bryce Hall making the cut as locks.

Isaac was on the bubble, even after putting together an impressive preseason. He finished with a coverage grade of 91.2 according to PFF, and seemed to be a rising star against all odds. Last year he was among Tampa Bay's class of UDFAs who made an impact, and although he was waived part way through the season he impressed coaches enough to be kept around and then showcased again this year.

That might suggest he gets picked up by another team and doesn't clear waivers. If he does, Isaac will almost certainly be back with the Bucs as part of the practice squad, but there's a chance he doesn't make it that far.

Really the move is less about Isaac not deserving a roster spot and is more about how good the defensive back group is this year. That's a huge boost from where things were last year and speaks to how well the roster has been constructed -- perhaps even better than last year.

More Tampa Bay Buccaneers news and rumors