Table of Contents
About the Author: Joshua Queipo
Latest Bucs Headlines
To finish off a flurry of roster moves the Bucs have already made this week, Tampa Bay has signed a player they have familiarity with. With an open roster spot on their practice squad, the team has signed wide receiver Marquez Callaway. This was first reported by Jeremy Fowler of ESPN and later confirmed by Greg Auman of Fox Sports and Jenna Laine of ESPN.
Veteran wide receiver Marquez Callaway plans to sign with the #Bucs, per source.
Former Saints wideout stays in NFC South
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) October 15, 2024
Marquez Callaway Brings Familiarity, Depth To Bucs WR Room
Bucs WR Marquez Callaway – Photo by: USA Today
Callaway, a former undrafted free agent out of Tennessee back in 2020, has spent the majority of his career with the New Orleans Saints. His best season came in 2021 when he caught 46 passes for 698 yards and six touchdowns. Because of his time with the Saints, the Bucs are quite familiar with Callaway. He has faced Tampa Bay six times, and in those games, he has 18 targets, 11 catches and 153 yards. That includes a six-catch, 112-yard performance in 2021.
Callaway has not played this season as the Saints waived him in August. The Bucs are still working through some injury issues at receiver. Rakim Jarrett has been on IR since the beginning of the regular season, Trey Palmer missed the Week 6 game against the Saints due to a concussion and Kameron Johnson has missed half of the team’s games to start the season.
Callaway is a big, bodied receiver with a 6’2, 204-pound frame and has been a downhill target throughout most of his career. His average depth of target is 12.3 for his career. Callaway will join the Bucs’ practice squad and be eligible for up to three elevations before the team would need to sign him to the active roster if they wanted him to play on Sundays.
The team has been cycling through practice squad receivers to begin the season because they opted to go short on receivers on their 53-man roster, carrying just five. Sterling Shepard was elevated in Weeks 3 and 4 before the Bucs signed him to the active roster before Week 5. Ryan Miller was elevated this past week as well. Callaway joins Miller and Tanner Knue to give Tampa Bay three receivers on the practice squad.
For his career he has 83 catches for 1,069 yards, averaging 12.9 yards per catch and seven touchdowns.
