5 winners (and 2 losers) from Buccaneers 29-7 preseason win over Titans

For the first time in over six months the Tampa Bay Buccaneers returned to the field on Saturday night. Preseason football is finally upon us which means the regular season is nearly here, but before it arrives a few things need to be sorted out in August.

Among those things is determing what Tampa Bay's final roster will look like. Most of the major roles are filled but even spots that are assumed to be safe, like backup roles at quarterback and running back, still need to be sorted out.

We have another two preseason games after this, and a lot of training camp practice between then, in order to figure things out. Our first look at the team told us a lot, though, and more than a few guys stood out in all the right ways.

Winner: Kyle Trask, QB

Kyle Trask's spot on the roster has always been a little strange. He's a second round pick who never developed into a successor to Tom Brady and seems to be on track to be a career backup.

That's not a bad thing, but Trask also hasn't seen enough game time for anyone to have a real feel for what kind of quarterback he really is. The Bucs clearly see something, as they used a rare contractual loophole to re-sign him this offseason.

Injuries to Baker Mayfield and Michael Pratt led Tampa Bay to bring in Teddy Bridgewater, who everyone assumed would challenge Trask for the QB2 role but that conversation was quieted on Saturday.

Trask played the entire first half, finishing 12-for-16 with 129 yards and a touchdown drive. He was responsible for leading the team down the field for all 13 of the points Tampa Bay scored, and looked reall good in the process.

He still has work to do, but Trask did himself a lot of favors and turned the heat down with his performance against Tennessee.

Winner: Emeka Egbuka, WR

Nobody's stock is on the rise more heading into the preseason than rookie Emeka Egbuka. The Bucs raised some eyebrows by using the No. 19 pick on him in the NFL Draft this year, especially since wide receiver is already such a solid position group, but Egbuka has done nothing but make the team look smart for taking a gamble on him.

He only managed one catch on two targets, but nothing about his night puts a damper on the hype building around him. His lone catch went for 21 yards and his only drop was nearly a one-handed back shoulder highlight reel touchdown catch.

There was already a lot to love about him before, and there's plenty of reason to love him even more after one game.

Loser: Anyone hoping there wouldn't be boneheaded penalties

One major flaw for the Bucs over the last few seasons has been the team's tendency to commit sloppy penalties. It's been baffling to watch a team refuse to coach itself out of making dumb mistakes, and we got a sour taste of that right out of the gate on Saturday.

Late in the fourth quarter the Buccaneers allowed penalties to wipe touchdowns off the board twice. Both instances came on the same drive and both were holding penalties that shouldn't have happened.

To be fair, the Bucs rested their starters so this isn't as big of a sin as it otherwise could be. Still, the fact that something like this is happening already is less than ideal and hopefully isn't a precursor of things to come in the regular season.

Loser: Rachaad White, RB

This is really through no fault of his own, at least in terms of performance. White actually galloped out to a strong start on the Bucs' first drive of the game, and finished with 28 yards on six carries, but his night didn't last long.

On Tampa Bay's second drive, White came limping off the field grabbing at his groin area. He hit the deck after reaching the sidelines and was soon ruled out after trainers took a look at him in the blue medical tent.

It's huge bummer on a bunch of levels, not the least of which being how White is entering an important contract season. His rookie deal expires at the end of the year and he's primed to earn a nice payday once he hits the open market.

Part of that involves him staying healthy, though, which is why suffering an injury two drives into the preseason is less than idea. Sean Tucker likely would have seen a decent amount of action regardless of an injury to White, but the fact that he went for 42 yards and touchdown means there might have been some missed opportunies.

Hopefully that's not something that lasts long and White is back in action soon.

Winner: Josh Grizzard, OC

For the third straight year the Buccaneers have a new offensive coordinator. Unlike most teams that turn over that spot on the coaching staff, the Bucs promoted Josh Grizzard after Liam Coen became the second straight OC to leave for a head coaching gig in the offseason.

Grizzard is set up for success, but that only puts more pressure on him to not be the one who throws off a system that has been working masterfully. Tampa Bay put up __ points in Grizzard's first game and there was a lot to love when it came to how the offense was run. He got the most out of Kyle Trask in the first half and leaned heavily on the run game to close things out.

Sean Tucker had a great night, Ryan Miller led all receivers with 66 yards, and Owen Wright put his name on the radar of fans with a 87 yard, one touchdown night. All of it felt like the Bucs offense getting back to what it looked like last year without missing any steps, which is a huge endorsement for what Grizzard is capable of doing this season.

Winner: Sean Tucker, RB

It's hard to think about winners on the night without giving Sean Tucker all of the flowers. There were a lot of good things that happened but Tucker's fantastic start to the preseason is perhaps the biggest thing to get excited about.

White finished the night with 50 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, which suggests Josh Grizzard might have some big plans for him this season. He already started to come into his own last year after being a training camp darling in 2023, and his workload against the Titans feels notable.

It's an even bigger deal when considering the injury to Rachaad White, which could propel Tucker into an even bigger role. We'll see what happens with White, but even without the injury factoring into things it feels like the Bucs are going to lean on Tucker in big ways this season.

Winner: JJ Roberts, S

A lot has been made this offseason about Shilo Sanders, and rightfully so. He brings Hall of Fame lineage to Tampa Bay and he's impressed in all of the right ways since arriving as a UDFA. However, it's another undrafted rookie who is standing out even more and could end up taking Sanders' roster spot at safety.

Tampa Bay has already made a financial investment in JJ Roberts, giving him a $2.9 million rookie contract with $300,000 guaranteed. That's a ton of money for a guy who is battling for a roster spot, but Roberts made his own argument for making the team on the field against the Titans.

Roberts led the team in tackles and played tight coverage all night. His best moment came when he tipped a pass into the hands of Tyreek Funderburk for an interception, one that led to points for the Bucs on offense.

Sanders still has a shot at making the team but there was some serious distance put between him and Roberts on Saturday. There will still be a narrative about the two UDFA safeties fighting for the same roster spot, but after the debut we saw from Roberts it seems like he's standing alone in ways that should excite fans moving forward.

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