Bucs Announce Their Final 53-Man Roster

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Trevor Sikkema

Trevor Sikkema is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat reporter and NFL Draft analyst for PewterReport.com. Sikkema, an alumnus of the University of Florida, has covered both college and professional football for much of his career. As a native of the Sunshine State, when he's not buried in social media, Sikkema can be found out and active, attempting to be the best athlete he never was. Sikkema can be reached at: [email protected]

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21 Comments

  2. 2

    macabee

    Re LS Garrison Sanborn. My understanding is that his release is a device of convenience to allow QB Ryan Griffin on to the 53 roster for one day. Sunday he will be moved to IR to return. At that time Sanborn can be added back to the 53. Sanborn likely chosen because he is less likely to be claimed from waivers and the least difficut to replace if a claim was made. No slight to Garrison. Go Bucs!

    1. 2.1

      jp414

      Why not cross train Evan Smith to long snap? I don’t know why more teams in the Bucs situation DON’T have their backup C trained to snap long. Somebody has to take over if your long snapper is out. Since Smith will be on the team anyway as backup C, why not save one position for a talent you really need, instead of wasting one on a guy who does nothing but long snap?

      1. 2.1.1

        macabee

        jp414,

        On the surface, your suggestion makes good sense. The problem is that we have tried that idea – in the era of leather helmets and before the modern era – before the first Superbowl. Then we entered the age of specialization.

        I’m sure you’re aware that all 32 teams now have a long snapper. And you’ve probably noticed that it’s specific body type. It’s a skill that 6-4 300lb tightly muscled centers can’t consistently and accurately do. C Ali Marpet is likely to become a pro bowl center. You know the most difficult thing he’s having to learn as shown in preseason – snapping the ball in the shotgun. Looks easy but quite the contrary.

        An NFL punter stands 15 yards behind the line. When your punter is standing at or in the end zone your worst nightmare is an errant snap. The LS is a specialty developed to ensure that the probability of that happening is extremely low. Centers and long snappers are as different as kickers and punters. Gotta have all of them!

        1. 2.1.1.1

          bEubanks11

          Great point but also the reason for the body type difference happens after the ball is snapped. These guys are then asked to not be a liability in punt coverage. They have to be able to run and tackle.

      2. 2.1.2

        Luckie23

        You must not know much about long snapping. I assure you if that was a possibility then the coaches/exec’s would have made that happen a long time ago.

    2. 2.2

      tpeluso

      If I’m reading things right, he doesn’t even need to go through waivers (since he’s listed as a released vested veteran).

      1. 2.2.1

        macabee

        You are correct. Sanborn has been in the league since 2009.

      2. 2.2.2

        macabee

        And I might further clarify that the timeline to return is not driven by Sanborn because as you state he was released as a vested veteran and can sign anytime as a free agent. The timeline is driven by QB Griffin as the NFL rule states that players aren’t eligible to return from IR unless they are on the active roster through 4:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 3.

    3. 2.3

      AlexanderNascimento

      But I think it’s a risk move in a week where a couple of teams traded for LS..
      Thanks

      1. 2.3.1

        macabee

        It is a risk somewhat but one they felt compelled to take. They also know they have former Buc LS Andrew DePaolo out there and he’s healthy again. I read on Twitter that Sanborn was not aware they were going to do this. Didn’t say how he felt. One could imagine!

  3. 3

    martinii

    i could never figure out why with half the offensive line crossed trained at center why it was necessary to take up a roster spot for a long snapper. I am sure there will be other changes over the next few days, but from a layman’s point of view it looks like a pretty good roster to me.

    1. 3.1

      deeznuts

      Snapping a football 5 yards to a shotgun-style QB and snapping a football 15 yards to a punter requires two completely different techniques. In truth, alot of O-linemen are not athletic enough to bend their heads between their knees which is step 1 of long snapping.

      By rule, the LS is the only unblocked man running down field so he has to have some sort of athletic ability to play in space – you cant have a 330lb meatball run down a 180lb scatback while maintaining gap integrity (e.g. between the hashes in this case)

  4. 4

    deeznuts

    I heard we might sign SS TJ Ward… this guy is a hammer in the secondary; 2-time probowler, all pro, and he’s a former superbowl champ. Hope it works out – Tandy and Ward would be a nice combo in the backend; conte would then give us good reps off the bench or even 3 safety packages in prevent D. If this goes through, J.Evans might have to move to the practice squad or be our best special teams ace to stay on the roster b/c JJ Wilcox is much better at this point.

    1. 4.1

      Horse

      Yes I saw the pick up with Ward too. They might be waiting for either Smith or griffin to officially go on IR/PUP. Evans will be on the Roster; he just needs some time. Was he a reach, yes. He’ll still be okay in a year.

    2. 4.2

      IDGABuc

      Yeah they were never going to put Evans on the practice squad (or try to anyways) because he would have had to clear waivers and while I also think he was a reach he would have never cleared waivers. I think he would have gone 20-40 picks later if the Bucs hadn’t taken him. Obviously that’s a wild guess but without knowing where other teams graded him that’s all we have is guesswork! I love the Ward signing. Even if he doesn’t play because of the hamstring he has an incentive laden contract so the Bucs won’t be out much and they get a 6th rounder next year and lose a 7th the year after for the Wilcox trade. That said if he is healthy he will be a vast improvement over any player at safety and a real boon (boon or boom..? Or better yet both!) to the locker room as a former Super Bowl winner who knows how it’s done. You can sometimes tell if the player has dropped off by how loudly and how many of the guys former teammates complain which it has been real loud and it has been most of them!

  5. 5

    Buc 1976

    Happy that Payton Barber made the team.
    On the flipside G Josh Allen being cut.
    I guess the coaches see something I don’t, he can play Center and guard. I would think Seattle may pick him up.

    1. 5.1

      IDGABuc

      If Seattle picks him up at least we’ll know the Bucs were right to get rid of him.. They’re one of the only teams that puts less emphasis on offensive line than the Bucs do!

  6. 6

    pinkstob

    I really worried about the secondary. I’m disappointed Evans was a 2nd round pick and Wilcox was a early FA acquisition and neither were able to beat out Conte or Tandy. Hargreaves was up and down, but overall I also haven’t liked what I’ve seen/read from our starting CB’s from a coverage standpoint this offseason or preseason. I’m also worried about the O-line and D-line among other position groups. We’ll see what happens in the regular season.

  7. 7

    drdneast

    I might add Macabee that 6’2 300 pound centers aren’t designed to run 50 yards downfield at full speed and have the agility to make sudden cuts and tackles. If they even can make it down the field after 50 yards at full speed it would take them another 10 yards to put the brakes on. Like a locomotive trying to stop for a car stranded on the tracks.

  8. 8

    Andy Cordero

    So, where’s the roster? If intent was to announce cuts, your title should reflect that, not something you don’t deliver in the article!

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