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Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport Twitter account each week in the Bucs Monday Mailbag. Submit your question to the Bucs Monday Mailbag each week via Twitter using the hashtag #PRMailbag. Here are the questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

QUESTION: What are the team’s thoughts on offensive depth – WR, RB, TE, O-line and QB. I thought Kyle Trask looked good. Do the Bucs view it as a strength?

ANSWER: Yes, the Bucs do view their offensive depth a strength. This is the deepest and most talented roster that Jason Licht has assembled in Tampa Bay. The Bucs are stocked at all of the positions you named on offense. The rookie additions – draft picks and undrafted free agents – really help bolster the team’s depth all over. Undrafted rookies like Jerreth Sterns, Deven Thompkins, Kaylon Geiger and JJ Howland look like they can play. And the Bucs have been thrilled with their draft picks – Luke Goedeke, Rachaad White, Cade Otton and Ko Kieft.

There will be plenty of tough decisions to be made on both sides of the ball, but perhaps more so on offense. The Bucs are ridiculously loaded at the wide receiver position. They have about 9-10 players that can legitimately play in the NFL at the position, and only 2-3 roster spots left after the signing of Julio Jones.

Don’t be surprised if the Bucs try to trade one of their wide receivers before roster cut-downs. It’s hard to imagine Tyler Johnson, Scotty Miller and Jaelon Darden all making the team. Especially with the way Sterns and Geiger played in the preseason opener. But there are two more preseason games and plenty more practices, and a lot can change on the depth chart. Head coach Todd Bowles is looking for consistent performers – not flashes in the pan.

QUESTION: What do you guys think of Olakunle Fatukasi?

Bucs ILB Olakunle Fatukasi – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: The Bucs were pleasantly surprised with the play of undrafted free agent linebacker Olakunle Fatukasi against the Dolphins. It’s clear the Rutgers product had been coached up well by Greg Schiano, a defensive-minded head coach. Fatukasi led the Bucs with six tackles against Miami, although one Bucs official told me the team had him at seven after watching the game film.

Fatukasi, who had an interception in practice two weeks ago, almost had an interception in the game. He finished with a pass breakup and a tackle for loss. If he continues to play like that over the next two preseason games, Fatukaski could end up making the team as a surprise player on the final 53-man roster.

The Bucs love K.J. Britt, who has made strides on defense this offseason. He’ll be the No. 3 linebacker on the depth chart. While Grant Stuard is a special teams demon, he’s a liability on defense. He’s just too small and too slow to play defense in the NFL, and gets exposed often in coverage. If Fatukasi can star on special teams too, the Bucs may opt to keep him over Stuard, who is also getting a reputation for being oft-injured.

QUESTION: Did Jose Borregales blow his shot to win the job with the missed game-winner on Saturday night?

ANSWER: No, I don’t think so. I think Jose Borregales could have put himself in the driver’s seat of the kicking competition. He had made all three of his extra points and nailed a 55-yard field goal. Then, he had a great chance to nail a 49-yard game-winner that would have been a real confidence boost. But head coach Mike McDaniel decided to ice the kicker by calling a timeout. It worked, as Borregales didn’t hit the kick cleanly and it doinked off the right upright.

It’s a shame because Borregales actually followed through and made the test kick even though the refs whistled the play dead and allowed the timeout. But he couldn’t replicate the success and missed when it counted.

The good news is that Borregales will have two more games to prove himself. If that’s his lone miss this preseason, the Bucs may decide to roll the dice and go with him as an unproven kicker over Ryan Succop. The veteran turns 36 in September and doesn’t have the range he used to. I think the Bucs want to give the job to Borregales, but he has to earn the team’s trust this August.

QUESTION: Would it be worth the risk to use Jose Borregales at kicker this year and gain cap space to use for a free agent?

Bucs K Jose Borregales – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: Great question. The kicker competition is fascinating to watch this August. It’s the young, talented, strong leg of Jose Borregales vs. the trustworthy-but-declining veteran Ryan Succop. Bucs general manager Jason Licht and head coach Todd Bowles have a very difficult decision to make. Both kickers have shined in training camp, and that’s the best kind of problem to have.

Licht and former head coach Bruce Arians opted for Succop when he was signed as a free agent in 2020. Matt Gay, who was drafted in the fifth round in 2019, showed promise, but had some key misses that season. When Tom Brady signed with Tampa Bay in 2020, the team opted for a more proven leg and kept Succop. That was the right move at the time, as Succop broke the team’s single-season scoring record with 136 points. He helped the Bucs go 11-5 and win Super Bowl LV.

Succop was still good last year, but Gay moved on to the Rams in 2020 and had a Pro Bowl season in 2021. He also kicked the game-winner to beat the Bucs in the 2021 NFC Divisional playoffs. That had to sting Licht and the Bucs franchise. Does Licht want to let another young kicker with real potential go and stick with Succop for one more year? It is a real gamble that could pay off or backfire in 2022 and beyond.

Gaining some salary cap room by cutting Succop is only part of the decision for the Bucs. While that would help this year’s cap, it’s not necessary. The Bucs would only cut Succop if they felt Borregales was the better kicker and they could trust him.

QUESTION: How is Keanu Neal looking so far in camp?