The Bucs kept the status quo with most of their practice squad spots. Fourteen of of the 17 players the Bucs are carrying on their reserve roster spent parts or all of the summer and training camp in Tampa Bay.

But the Bucs made three additions from players cut by other teams. One of those three is defensive tackle Jayson Jones.

Bucs Add Powerful Run Stopper In Jayson Jones

Jayson Jones is an undrafted free agent out of Auburn. He played a rotational role for the Tigers, logging just under 1,200 snaps over four years. The 325-pound lineman is a true nose tackle who can eat up space and double teams as an extreme impediment to opposing offense's run games.

LMAOOOO literally the first play when I dialed him up. pic.twitter.com/DMoFWepcu2

— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) August 28, 2025

In an extremely deep defensive tackle draft, Jones went undrafted due to several factors: his limited snaps in college despite a four-year career, the hyper-specialized role he ideally fits, and his limited athleticism.

Jayson Jones went undrafted as a DT in the 2025 draft class. He scored a 1.58 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 1713 out of 2033 DT from 1987 to 2025.

UDFA #Ravenshttps://t.co/EjyBkmIkcS pic.twitter.com/nA2La9V0hv

— RAS.football (@MathBomb) April 27, 2025

But Jones fills a very specific "in case of emergency" role on the Bucs roster. And an important one at that.

If Tampa Bay loses its Pro Bowl nose tackle Vita Vea, the defense loses an important building block of their early-down structure. Vea's size and strength require offenses to double him on most run plays. The cascading effect is getting one of their outside linebackers a one-on-one matchup against a tight end while simultaneously putting their smaller, faster defensive ends in position to shoot gaps and create tackles for loss.

Calijah Kancey was second among all qualifying interior defensive linemen in tackle for loss rate last year (3.35%). A lot of what Todd Bowles likes to do structurally on early downs revolves around Vea's ability to command additional attention and bodies.

But what if the Bucs lose Vea for an extended period of time? Perish the thought, I know.

But it has happened before. In 2020 the Bucs lost Vea in Week 5 through the rest of the regular season. Lacking an early-down space-eater, the Bucs traded for Steve McLendon. While it was an unheralded role, it was an integral one.

Bucs DT Jason Jones – Photo by: USA Today

Since then, Bowles and the Bucs have targeted a lighter, more twitched up type of interior defender. Logan Hall was sub-300 pounds when the Bucs drafted him. He has put on weight since then, but his 6-foot-6 height and lack of strength make him better suited for a gap-penetrating three-technique than someone who can hold up as a heads-up nose or a shade in the A gap.

Similarly, Kancey is historically small for the position. And while Kancey is strong for his size, and his shorter stature gives him a leverage advantage so he can attack like a Tasmanian devil, he can still be overwhelmed by double teams when offenses target him. Rookie fifth-round pick Elijah Roberts is cut from a similar cloth to Hall and Kancey as a converted edge tipping the scales at just 290 pounds.

Vea's backup on the active roster is Greg Gaines. Gaines is a serviceable run-stuffer himself. But he is small for a nose tackle himself at just 312 pounds. If the Bucs lose Vea they would need a quality early down run-stuffer. That's where Jones makes his living.

Jones has the stature and density to absorb double teams. He uses his height to keep his eyes in the backfield and keeps moving to the point of attack. His pure strength makes him difficult for smaller centers to anchor against. It also makes him the ideal crasher on stunts as he can simultaneously collapse the pocket and create space for loopers to work around.

Jayson Jones' Limitations

While Jayson Jones excels at fitting the run – his 13.7% stop rate in the preseason was impressive – he does not offer much as a pass rusher. He recorded just 1.5 sacks in his college career. And looking beyond just sacks, his career pressure rate was just 3.3%.

His best trait in this facet of the game is working as pocket compressor or when he sets up games as the crasher. If he were pressed onto the roster and into the lineup, chances are he would be used only on earlier run-first downs.

Bucs DT Jason Jones – Photo by: USA Today

Still this practice squad pickup is a low-key smart move. The Bucs saw a potential hole that could arise if an injury were to befall one of their key defensive stars and then found a cheap, low risk player who can fill a hyper specific role.

Jones isn't a sexy pickup. But he's a useful one. And come next year he may be ready to be DT5/DT6 as Vea's primary backup.