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The Bucs made a roster move following Tuesday’s joint practice with the Jaguars in Jacksonville, placing rookie defensive tackle DeShawn McKnight on injured reserve. And with the creation of another roster spot, the team announced the signing of wide receiver Matthew Henry.

McKnight, an undrafted rookie out of Arizona, was injured in Tampa Bay’s 16-15 preseason win over Kansas City last Saturday night. He originally signed with the Bucs as an undrafted free agent in May and went through rookie camp, OTAs, mini-camp and much of training camp with the team.

Bucs DT Deshawn McKnight – Photo by: IMAGN Images

Over nine snaps in the preseason opener against the Jets, McKnight played to a 55.0 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, with a 60.0 run defense grade. Then, in his lone snap against the Chiefs, he was credited with a quarterback hurry. But it was on that play that he suffered the hamstring injury that now lands him on injured reserve.

With McKnight going on injured reserve, the Bucs had another roster spot, which they decided to fill with a rookie wide receiver who had quite the journey throughout his collegiate career.

Matthew Henry Becomes A Late Addition To Bucs’ Crowded WR Room

Matthew Henry’s college career began at Livingstone College, where he caught 66 passes for 840 yards (12.7 avg.) and eight touchdowns over 15 games. From there, he joined Western Illinois for the 2024 season. That year, he caught 64 passes for 1,211 (18.9 avg.) and six touchdowns.

Henry then finished his collegiate career at Western Kentucky. In his lone year with the Hilltoppers, he hauled in 55 passes for 888 yards (16.1 avg.) and six touchdowns. He went undrafted earlier this year before participating in rookie mini-camps with both the Titans and 49ers.

New Bucs WR Matthew Henry – USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Henry, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound receiver, now joins a crowded Bucs wide receiver room very late in training camp. The team has just one more practice Wednesday morning in Jacksonville before its preseason finale Friday night. Roster cutdowns follow on Sunday, so that gives the rookie receiver very little time to make an impression on Tampa Bay’s coaches and front office decision-makers.

Not to mention, there’s likely only one wide receiver spot still up for grabs on the 53-man roster. Chris Godwin Jr., Emeka Egbuka, Jalen McMillan, Ted Hurst and Tez Johnson are all locked into the first five receiver spots, with the sixth up for grabs between the likes of Kameron Johnson, David Sills V and Dean Patterson IV.

Even making enough of an impression to land on the practice squad could be tough for Henry in such a short amount of time, with Sills and Patterson, as well as Garrett Greene and Dennis Houston all in the mix for the practice squad assuming Johnson earns that sixth spot.

At the very least, though, the Bucs will get a look at Henry and have another healthy body at wide receiver for Friday night’s preseason finale against the Jaguars. Godwin, Egbuka and McMillan won’t play, and there may not be much sense in playing Hurst or Tez Johnson for all that many snaps, either. Plus, rookie Eric Rivers Jr. didn’t participate in Tuesday’s practice, so there’s at least a chance that Tampa Bay is down another receiver.