A team's roster offers valuable insights into their perspective on various units and how they plan to approach the season. Here are some observations from the current 53-man roster:
Starting with the most obvious position—quarterback. The addition of Teddy Bridgewater speaks volumes about the team's feelings toward Kyle Trask. Bridgewater brings veteran experience and will serve as a reliable backup if needed, but he’s not a long-term solution. His arm strength is limited, and defenses could exploit that if he were to start multiple games. This move indicates the team’s lack of trust in Trask and a belief that he may have reached his ceiling in development. It would be poor management for a playoff-caliber team to rely on Trask if something were to happen to Baker Mayfield.
Now, let’s address the Shilo Sanders situation. He entered training camp with strong work habits, was a great teammate, and handled media well, but unfortunately, he just didn’t perform well enough on the field. As a fan of his father, Deion Sanders, I would have loved to see him succeed on my favorite team. However, having a legendary father doesn’t guarantee success in the NFL.
Sanders clearly loves the game, and I hope he finds a new team to continue his career. However, his performance in college raised concerns—he was a liability in coverage and missed too many tackles, and we saw that trend continue in the preseason. His ejection wasn’t as big of a factor as many think. His release shortly after the game seemed aimed at giving him a chance to catch on with another team sooner. I wish him all the best; he seems like a great young man.
On the defensive side, I wasn’t surprised by the waiving of Nate Jackson. Yes, he had an interception and a sack in the first preseason game, but sometimes luck plays a role. He was in the right place at the right time for those plays. While he loves the game, he seems to lack the athleticism needed to compete at this level. In contrast, John Bullock made the team due to his special teams contributions and tackles. Remember, football consists of three units: offense, defense, and special teams. A great team excels in all areas.
I was a bit surprised the team kept only five outside linebackers, but it makes sense—they clearly feel comfortable using Elizah Roberts at edge if needed, especially after his strong preseason performance on the defensive line.
The decision to keep six cornerbacks is also noteworthy. This suggests a willingness to utilize corners at nickelback more than in previous years. Jacob Parrish may start at nickel, becoming the first corner to do so since Sean Murphy-Bunting.
I anticipate the Bucs will try to land Garrett Greene, Owen Wright, Jake Majors, and possibly Nick Jackson on the practice squad, as they all fell victim to the numbers game. I’d also like to see them pursue quarterback Hendon Hooker or safety Lewis Cine, both of whom were highly regarded during their draft years but were waived earlier this week by their respective teams.
Remember, this 53-man roster is not set in stone. It will undergo adjustments in the coming week, and it will continue to evolve throughout the season.
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Nick Jackson is pretty athletic if you look at his metrics. The great misconception is you need elite athletic traits to play LB but like guard it is the one position where technique and know how is 90% of the play. Knowing your leverage, using your hands, and positioning matters as a guard or LB.
I think Jackson may stick around because he simply has great instincts, good athletic traits and also seems to take in coaching.
Roberts could be used at edge as an elephant rusher as they will kick Hall or Kancey out there too to mix things up. But Roberts will be used a lot to rotate with Hall but also with Kancey to keep everyone fresh.
The willingness to use a CB at nickel stems from the fact that Parrish is a CB that is not a typical Bowles CB. He is a tick faster and more agile which is needed for NCB which makes sense that by deviating from what they typically look for at boundary CB. Keep in mind the other reason why safeties typically play NCB in Bowles scheme is because he likes short and squatty builds for his safeties. Safeties that play low to the ground for great leverage and have an easier time to plant and break on the ball than a tall 6-2 CB for example.
If I remember correctly Greene, Wright and Jackson are on the PS. Have not seen anything about Majors yet.
@alldaway - great comments. Like I mentioned, I like Jackson, but running a 4.8 40 yard dash is not going to lead to success in the NFL. Too many fans get caught falling in love with preseason guys. But it’s a totally different game come regular season.
And you’re right about the nickel back spot and need. It’s why I’ve always thought Bowles has gone about it with the wrong talent.
The practice squad tells me they are looking at a bunch of Olineman just in case someone goes down, and a bunch of future NT that can take rotational DT snaps
Licht and Bowles are on the same page about the trenches for sure.
What is interesting to note is the Bucs typically keep one big bodied pass catcher on the PS. But they have Green and Houston who are typically sized WRs that can attack zones with their agility.
Kamara is the ONLY edge they have on the PS and Watts the 5th edge on the active roster. This tells us that Foote will be mixing in some of these speedsters to compliment the power game of Diaby/Braswell/Nelson. Reddick will also provide some contrast on the other side.
They kept no RB on the PS because they decided to go 4 RBs on the main roster. That is some high praise and confidence for the UDFA rookie J. Williams.
Bazelak was called inaccurate but based on his play he was more accurate than thought when the dust settled. Maybe playing with better WRs and coaching helped his accuracy "improve".
Jackson, Hall, and Henderson round out the back end of the defense and if there is an injury on defense they are clearly going to be the first in line to be called up.
They kept no RB on the PS because they decided to go 4 RBs on the main roster. That is some high praise and confidence for the UDFA rookie J. Williams.
agreed
and maybe that they see kick off returns as a real opportunity to impact games
Owen Wright was the next man up and he has not been added to any practice squad let alone the Bucs. I wouldn't be surprised if the Bucs dredge up a Chase Edmonds type of player to add to the practice squad so he can be ready if an injury occurs.They kept no RB on the PS because they decided to go 4 RBs on the main roster. That is some high praise and confidence for the UDFA rookie J. Williams.
agreed
and maybe that they see kick off returns as a real opportunity to impact games
Own Wright is on the couch and waiting for the call up. That does happen often.