The Bucs announced on Tuesday that they have waived defensive tackle Ben Stille. Tampa Bay signed Stille right before the start of the regular season when Calijah Kancey wasn’t going to be available for the opener.

Bucs assistant GM John Spytek and GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Stille played more of a reserve and backup role along the defensive line. His snap count through the first four weeks, which included being inactive for Week 2, were six in Weeks 1 and 3 and two snaps last Sunday in Week 4. He made one tackle in three games but did have a fumble against the Eagles the other day.

How Will The Bucs Fill Out Their Roster?

Tampa Bay did not make another move at the moment, so the roster currently sits at 52 with one spot open. Because of the number of injuries that the Bucs have, there are several positions that they might want to add instead of just defensive tackle.

Take wide receiver for example. It certainly looks like Trey Palmer will not be available this Thursday since he had a concussion last game. Jalen McMillan didn’t appear to be participating this week, so if he’s out again the Bucs would likely call up Sterling Shepard again.

Bucs DT Calijah Kancey – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

This would be Shepard’s third and final elevation from the practice squad, so they couldn’t call him up anymore. Shepard would be a likely candidate to be signed to the active roster.

Another position that the Bucs need to figure out is at inside linebacker since SirVocea Dennis is going to be out for a long time. J.J. Russell can back up Lavonte David and K.J. Britt, but after that, the Bucs have two linebackers on the practice squad in Antonio Grier Jr. and Vi Jones.

Much of this may linger on how long Kancey continues to still be out. He was seen at a walk-through practice on Tuesday but didn’t even participate with his fellow defensive linemen. The good news is that Vita Vea seems to have bounced back from his knee injury quite well with a great performance.

Bucs general manager Jason Licht and company will have a couple of options to add to the final roster spot. Tampa Bay has been banged up early in the season but it hasn’t slowed them down too much with a 3-1 record.