The dust has settled. The cuts have been made. Here's the the biggest decisions behind the make up of the roster.
JALON DANIELS WINS THE BACKUP JOB
The biggest story of cutdown day. Jake Browning has been released. The veteran signed in the spring to be Baker Mayfield's trusted backup and came in as the overwhelming favorite to make this roster as the number two.
And then an undrafted kid from Kansas walked into training camp and simply outplayed him.
Jalon Daniels engineered five scoring drives across three preseason games, orchestrated two come-from-behind wins, and won over a coaching staff that didn't know his name when camp opened. Releasing a proven veteran in favor of a player who had never taken an NFL snap before this preseason is a bold decision. But Daniels earned it every single day. Welcome to Tampa Bay, for real this time.
TUCKER OVER WILLIAMS: TOUGER DECISION THAN YOU THINK
This one stings a little, at least from my perspective. Josh Williams looked noticeably more explosive, more decisive, and more physical than Sean Tucker on virtually every carry throughout the preseason. His 12-yard touchdown run against the Jets, his burst through gaps, his acceleration after contact — all of it pointed to a player who deserved this spot.
Tucker survived, and I understand why the coaching staff kept him. He's reliable, catches the ball out of the backfield, and doesn't make big mistakes. But he doesn't do anything great either. He's exactly average, which is probably the most frustrating thing you can say about a player competing for a roster spot. If Tucker struggles early in the regular season, don't be surprised to see Williams surface quickly on the practice squad. This decision may not be final.
CHRIS BRASWELL: THIS ONE SHOULDN’T BE A SURPRISE TO ANYONE
I said it when the Buccaneers selected Braswell in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft and I'll say it again now: that was a reach. THE Bucs needed to draft an edge and they didn’t take one in the first round. Too bad edge wasn’t a depth position in 2024. Two years later, he's been waived before ever carving out a meaningful role. When a second-round pick can't beat out undrafted free agents for a roster spot, that is the definition of a failed draft pick. It hurts to say, but it's the truth.
CADEN FORDHAM: I LOVED THIS DECISION
The feel-good story of cutdown day. Undrafted free agent linebacker Caden Fordham out of NC State has made this 53-man roster, and honestly it felt inevitable from the moment I watched him in the preseason opener against the Jets. Assignment-sound, instinctive, and comfortable in space from the very first rep — Fordham looked like he belonged every time he was on the field. While Nick Jackson looked out of place the earlier he played, Fordham looked more confident the earlier he played. That's the hallmark of a player who belongs. You earned this, Caden.
THE BIGGEST CONCERN: OFFENSIVE LINE DEPTH
The starting five of Wirfs, Bredeson, Barton, Mauch, and Goedeke is legitimately one of the better units in the NFL when healthy. But we saw throughout this entire preseason what this offense looks like without Tristan Wirfs, and it wasn't pretty. Jake Browning was pressured on 58% of his dropbacks and sacked three times against the Chiefs. The backup offensive line was described as "veritable turnstiles" and nearly got Browning killed on multiple occasions.
The depth behind the starting five is Dan Feeney, Luke Haggard, Ben Chukwuma, Justin Skule, and rookie Billy Schrauth, who is already dealing with a knee injury. That is a group that has struggled badly whenever called upon this preseason. If Wirfs or any other starter goes down during the regular season, this offense is going to look very different very quickly. It is the most significant vulnerability on this entire 53-man roster and the one that concerns me most heading into September 13.
The roster is set. The season is 12 days away. Time to find out what this team is made of when the games count for real. GO BUCS!
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The decision with J. Williams was easy because KG is a better version of him and is being paid more. Tucker is a different style runner from Irving Jr and KG.
Daniels is by far the best backup the Bucs have so far and they might as well roll with him and see what he can soak in with more practice time and practice QB center exchanges.
OL depth is all on Licht because he chose to re-sign Feeney and draft Schrauth. Licht had to know he needed to do more than roll with a hope and prayer.
Pretty funny signing Browning then cutting him.
Even funnier than waking Braswell year 3. Cannot believe Licht reached on him.
Licht genuinely is better with UDFA than second round picks.
If Wirfs or any other starter goes down during the regular season, this offense is going to look very different very quickly.
Last year when starters went down we got a shuffled line and Michael Jordan and Charlie Heck for 65% and 40% of the offensive snaps, respectively. I think both guys are jobless at the moment? So, O-line depth is still a big potential weakness STILL but maybe marginally better than last season?
Certainly does not feel that way.
The weakness of the OL backups could be the reason they went with Daniels over Browning---escapability.
THE BIGGEST CONCERN: OFFENSIVE LINE DEPTH
As I say repeatedly, year after year after year - this is a concern for every single team in the NFL. Most teams barely have a good starting five. Almost all teams have questionable depth.
It's hard to find good offensive linemen in this league. There simply aren't that many.
Even funnier than waking Braswell year 3. Cannot believe Licht reached on him.
Anyone wearing the Bama logo gets elevated. Not sure him drafting Braswell is that tough to believe.
Daniels being a UDFA is still as big a head scratcher as I can remember. In 2026, its hard to understand how a rock goes unturned.
It's hard to find good offensive linemen in this league. There simply aren't that many.
That’s where your young linemen come into play. Every team loses starting linemen every year and don’t fall off as bad as we did last year. Licht drafted Klein in 2024, no one in 2025, and Schrauth in 2026. That’s not building depth.
Pretty funny signing Browning then cutting him.
Even funnier than waking Braswell year 3. Cannot believe Licht reached on him.
Licht genuinely is better with UDFA than second round picks.
Licht likes to gamble with 2nd round picks. Look at his third round picks and a lot of them are home runs in comparison. Winfield Jr was an easy home run in round 2 but beyond that it has been dicey.
It's hard to find good offensive linemen in this league. There simply aren't that many.
That’s where your young linemen come into play. Every team loses starting linemen every year and don’t fall off as bad as we did last year. Licht drafted Klein in 2024, no one in 2025, and Schrauth in 2026. That’s not building depth.
Teams trade for depth along the OL if need be. The flurry of teams trading for OL and DL yesterday was non stop. If Licht and the Bucs FO becomes complacent with the roster just like last year it is 100% on them.
Even funnier than waking Braswell year 3. Cannot believe Licht reached on him.
Anyone wearing the Bama logo gets elevated. Not sure him drafting Braswell is that tough to believe.
Daniels being a UDFA is still as big a head scratcher as I can remember. In 2026, its hard to understand how a rock goes unturned.
Those teams were loaded. So hard to evaluate but Braswell's was ass and Licht took him two fucking full rounds early. Asinine.
Pretty funny signing Browning then cutting him.
Even funnier than waking Braswell year 3. Cannot believe Licht reached on him.
Licht genuinely is better with UDFA than second round picks.
Licht likes to gamble with 2nd round picks. Look at his third round picks and a lot of them are home runs in comparison. Winfield Jr was an easy home run in round 2 but beyond that it has been dicey.
Outside of Winfield (who fell in his lap) his 2nd round picks are mostly dog shit. But the dude has had 12 fucking years so of course there's a handful of ok ones.
He reached again this year at LB so now the pressure is on the kid to be great.
Trotter Jr will be okay but I am not sure if he will be very good or exceptional as a starter. We will find out.
Given how inactive Licht has been and passive and timid with upgrading the roster he needs his 2nd round picks to be not only sure fire starters but more importantly impact players like his 1st round picks.
It's hard to find good offensive linemen in this league. There simply aren't that many.
That’s where your young linemen come into play. Every team loses starting linemen every year and don’t fall off as bad as we did last year. Licht drafted Klein in 2024, no one in 2025, and Schrauth in 2026. That’s not building depth.
You don't have to get your depth from the draft. There are other ways to acquire depth at OL.
Also, the OL really didn't fall off as much as you think in the run game and not at all in pass pro:
2024: 16.6 Pressure Rate & 2.8 Rushing Yards before Contact
2025: 15.0 Pressure Rate & 2.7 Rushing Yards before Contact
It's been discussed here a lot, but the best wins happened when Wirfs & Goedeke missed time in the beginning of the year, while the fall off and worst losses happened later in the year when those guys returned.
