The Bucs continue to make roster moves as they deal with more injuries early in the season. Today they announced they are putting safety Rashad Wisdom on Injured Reserve. Wisdom was a reserve defensive back special teamer for Tampa Bay this year, having made the roster for the first time. He spent 2024 on the Bucs' practice squad.

Wisdom impressed head coach Todd Bowles this preseason when he jumped in to play nickel in the team's second and third preseason games after injuries to Christian Izien and J.J. Roberts left the team shallow on depth chart. He had not cross-trained at nickel prior to being thrust into action and played well leading Bowles to say following the game against the Steelers, "Wisdom being on the practice squad last year. Actually, played nickel in the second half cuz we were down all the corners. And he did a heck of a job playing nickel, strong safety and free safety from a knowledgeable standpoint."

Bucs S Rashad Wisdom and OLB Markees Watts – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Wisdom hasn't had any opportunities on defense during the regular season but has played 25 snaps on special teams between week one in Atlanta and week four against the Eagles. He recorded two total tackles on the season.

Replacing Wisdom

The Bucs are replacing Wisdom not from their own practice squad, but from the practice squad of one of their preseason opponents who they got to see up close and personal during joint practices. Safety Sebastian Castro is being signed from the Steelers' practice squad directly to the Bucs' active roster. Castro led the Steelers with five combined tackles and two defensive stops against the Bucs earlier this year and totaled 10 tackles in the preseason.

Castro played four years at the University of Iowa before signing with Pittsburgh as an undrafted free agent in 2025. Over those four years he totaled 163 tackles, 14 for a loss, 2.0 sacks, four interceptions, 14 passes defensed and five forced fumbles.

Aug 16, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers safety Sebastian Castro (29) tackles Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Garrett Greene (85) during the second half at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

Lance Zeirlein's scouting report for Castro includes, "Scheme-dependent safety who plays with chaotic energy near the line of scrimmage. Castro might lack the man-cover skills and athleticism to remain a big nickelback in the pros. He plays with urgency from short zone and rushes downhill to set a contain edge and spackle missing run fits as a run defender. Athletic testing will be key in projecting Castro's usage. A lack of versatility and his age (turns 25 in October) could work against him in the draft, but his physicality, field demeanor and special-teams utility create roster value in his favor as a down safety."

With Wisdom now on IR, Castro's 296 collegiate special teams snaps factor into the decision to add him to the roster.

Practice Squad Moves

The Bucs made two other moves related to their practice squad today. They placed Jayson Jones on Practice Squad/Injured Reserve and signed cornerback Damarion Williams to the practice squad. Jones was brought on just after the final cut down day of the preseason after he spent the offseason with Baltimore. He brought size and strength to a position where the Bucs had trended lighter in recent years.

Instead of finding another defensive lineman to replace Jones on the practice squad, Tampa Bay is instead signing Williams, a defensive back. This is a nod to the injuries the team sustained to that position group in week four. In addition to Wisdom going down, both cornerbacks Jamel Dean and Ben Morrison left the game with soft tissue injuries. Both players are getting MRI's and Bowles did not have updates on the severity of those injuries or how much time they will miss at Monday's press conference. Safety Tykee Smith also left Sunday's game in the third quarter but returned to play shortly thereafter.

Williams is a former fourth-round draft selection of the Ravens in 2022. He played 225 defensive snaps his rookie season recording 24 tackles and two pass deflections. He spent this offseason and preseason with the Seahawks.