Here it is, my pre-preseason 53-man roster prediction for the 2021 Tampa Bay Bucs. 26 offensive players, 24 defensive players, 3 specialists and 16 practice squaders.

Leave your disagreements in the comments section.

Offense (26)

Quarterbacks (3)

Tom Brady
Blaine Gabbert
Kyle Trask

This one is obvious. What might not be obvious is that if the Bucs lost Brady and Gabbert, I believe Griffin would be called up to start, not Trask.

Running Backs (4)

Ronald Jones
Giovani Bernard
Leonard Fournette
Ke’Shawn Vaughn

Again, no surprises here. If Leonard Fournette is the third-most utilized back in the regular season, does he become Disgruntled Lenny?

Wide Receivers (7)

Mike Evans
Chris Godwin
Antonio Brown
Scotty Miller
Jaelon Darden
Tyler Johnson
Jaydon Mickens

Tyler Johnson’s strong bounce-back camp has locked him into a roster spot. Keeping seven wide receivers without any strong special teams kick coverage contributors is rare, but I’m not ready to quit Jaydon Mickens just yet. He’s played too well in camp, has experience in the return game and has played gunner as well.

Tight Ends (3)

Rob Gronkowski
O.J. Howard
Cameron Brate

Will the Bucs keep a fourth tight end on the final roster? With Tanner Hudson in Bruce Arians’ doghouse and Codey McElroy still very raw, it doesn’t look like it.

Offensive Linemen (9)

Tristan Wirfs
Alex Cappa
Ryan Jensen
Ali Marpet
Donovan Smith
Aaron Stinnie
Josh Wells
Robert Hainsey
Nick Leverett

Eight of these players are locks. At this point, it would also be a small surprise if Nick Leverett doesn’t make the team as the ninth offensive lineman. He’s had a great camp and can play four spots on the o-line. Leverett also possesses the nastiness and physicality to play for an Arians-Harold Goodwin offensive line.

Defense (24)

Interior Defensive Linemen (7)

Vita Vea
Ndamukong Suh
Will Gholston
Rakeem Nunez-Roches
Steve McLendon
Khalil Davis
Pat O’Connor

Jeremiah Ledbetter has had a good camp, but he doesn’t have Khalil Davis’ upside nor Pat O’Connor’s special teams impact. The Bucs probably only keep seven interior defensive linemen, which makes it hard for Ledbetter to crack the group. It’s a deep group of run stoppers for the Bucs, but Davis will need to provide some pass rush juice.

Outside Linebackers (4)

Shaq Barrett
Jason Pierre-Paul
Joe Tryon
Anthony Nelson

Perhaps Cam Gill could have ousted Nelson from the roster with an impressive preseason performance, but injuries have kept the second-year edge from showing much. Gill is now in a boot after missing Wednesday and Thursday’s practices. Nelson hasn’t had a great camp, but it’s hard to see anyone else bumping him off the roster.

Inside Linebackers (5)

Lavonte David
Devin White
Kevin Minter
Joe Jones
K.J. Britt

The Bucs ability to keep five linebackers will depend solely on special teams contributions. If Gill is out, the team will need to replace him on punt team and other coverage units. With special teams questions at wide receiver, tight end and running back, the Bucs may have three aces at linebacker. Can Minter, Jones and Britt all be active on game days? It’s going to be tricky. But it’s clear the Bucs are heading toward an unorthodox special teams group on Sundays anyway.

Cornerbacks (5)

Carlton Davis
Sean Murphy-Bunting
Jamel Dean
Ross Cockrell
Antonio Hamilton

The only debate here is whether the team keeps six cornerbacks or just five. These are the clear-cut top five right now, but if they keep a sixth corner things will get interesting. None of Nate Brooks, Chris Wilcox, Herb Miller, Cameron Kinley or Dee Delaney have consistently impressed in practices. Preseason games will be a huge indicator for what happens at cornerback.

Safeties (3)

Antoine Winfield Jr.
Jordan Whitehead
Mike Edwards

Cockrell’s ability to shift to safety as needed could allow the Bucs to carry just three true safeties on the roster this season. Javon Hagan has had a decent camp however, and will get every opportunity to earn a spot on special teams.

Specialists (3)

Ryan Succop
Bradley Pinion
Zach Triner

Injured Reserve

WR Justin Watson
OLB Cam Gill

Practice Squad (16)*

QB Ryan Griffin
RB Troymaine Pope
WR Travis Jonsen
WR Cyril Grayson
TE Codey McElroy
OG Sadarius Hutcherson
OT Brad Seaton
C Donell Stanley

DT Jeremiah Ledbetter
DT Benning Potoa’e
OLB Elijah Ponder
OLB Quinton Bell
LB Grant Stuard
CB Herb Miller
CB Chris Wilcox
S Javon Hagan

*Practice squads may only have six players with more than 2 accrued seasons