The Bucs lost in their first preseason action of the 2017 season by a score of 23-12 on Friday night in Paul Brown Stadium. PewterReport.com takes a look at the players who were the most disappointing in the loss. Take a look and see if you agree.
K Roberto Aguayo
The gamble of taking a kicker in the second round appears to be one of those misses that will be talked about for years. Barring a miraculous turnaround of epic proportions, combined with a total meltdown by Nick Folk, Aguayo’s days in Tampa are numbered. In fact, Aguayo may not make it to Jacksonville on Thursday. The former FSU star missed an extra point in the second quarter, and ended the Bucs final offensive possession wide right on a 47-yarder. It is hard to see a scenario where Aguayo makes the Bucs final roster.
T Caleb Benenoch
Benenoch, who made the move back to tackle from guard this offseason, gave up a costly sack in the game and also added a holding penalty on the same drive. The good news for the Bucs is the team isn’t heavily counting on Benenoch this season, however, one major injury and that could change. Tampa Bay is looking for tackle depth, and his game against the Bengals will do little to help the front office sleep any better.
T Cole Gardner
Gardner, like Benenoch, gave up a costly sack, however, his ended up knocking backup quarterback Ryan Griffin out of the game. No offensive lineman likes to see their quarterback touched much less injured. Offensive line coach George Warhop likes to see it even less. Gardner was largely ineffective in the run game as well.
LB Kendell Beckwith
Despite tying for the team lead in tackles with five, and being credited with a sack, Beckwith was out of position and was pushed around somewhat as the game wore on. The former LSU standout was getting his first taste of NFL action on Friday night, and is still recovering from an ACL injury. However, as the primary backup to middle linebacker, Kwon Alexander, Beckwith needs to show more, or else there is a steep drop off waiting to happen if Alexander were to miss any regular season game action based on Beckwith’s play against the Bengals.
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
Despite being the only quarterback to lead the Buccaneers to a touchdown on Friday night, Fitzpatrick ended the game with a quarterback rating of 22, finishing the night just 6-of-13 for 45 yards with an interception. Despite the tough overall night, Fitzpatrick did play better than he has shown in training camp thus far, however, it is quite obvious their is a huge gap between Winston and the backups.