It was a valiant effort from the Bucs in their first game of preseason action, but the Super Bowl champions fell to the visiting Cincinnati Bengals, 19-14. There weren’t many disastrous performances, and the team seemed to avoid any major injuries. But few offensive players impressed, and the Bucs shot themselves in the foot far too often with drops and penalties.

Here are the most disappointing players from the Bucs’ preseason loss to the Bengals.

QB Ryan Griffin

There is just so little margin for error with a quarterback that has Griffin’s physical and athletic limitations. He can’t create when things get even a little hectic in the pocket, and his arm is below average. Everything has to be perfect for Griffin to succeed, and that’s rarely the case in football, especially in the third quarter of a preseason game.

That’s when Griffin threw two interceptions over the middle of the field, feeding the Bengals 10 points to give them a 16-6 lead. Before that Griffin overthrew a potential touchdown to Darden. He also struggled to get the ball into any tight windows, forcing his receivers to make tough grabs on routine throws. He finished 6-of-11 for 47 yards and two interceptions and was sacked once. At this point, Kyle Trask should be getting more of Griffin’s reps in practice.

OL Nick Leverett

It wasn’t all Leverett’s fault that he struggled. I think we just found out he probably is an emergency offensive tackle at best. The Bucs tried him out at left tackle all night, but Leverett’s lack of range on his pass sets was quickly exposed. He battled his tail off, often fully extending to push rushers wide. But speed and bend gave him major issues in pass protection, revealing limitations that might keep Leverett at guard in the NFL. I still think he’s the favorite to win the ninth O-line spot.

KR Ke’Shawn Vaughn

Bucs RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

As a receiver and rusher, Vaughn had a solid night. As a kickoff returner, he may have lost any shot at the job in one night. His lack of burst and speed was painfully exposed, but it was his vision that was really troubling. One unblocked player got through every time, and Vaughn simply could not evade him. On three kick returns, Vaughn averaged a ridiculously bad 14 yards per return, with a long of 18 yards. He finished with 27 yards on 11 carries (2.5 avg.) and a touchdown, along with two catches for 10 yards and a drop.

LB Grant Stuard

Stuard may make a fine special teams player some day, but his athletic and coverage limitations are going to be exposed on defense. Multiple times the Bengals held him with a fake and threw to the flats, where Stuard was late to arrive to the ball. He lacks all the key traits that modern day linebackers need to survive on defense. Stuard is on the outside looking-in on this linebacker room with two preseason games to go. He finished with two tackles on defense and one on special teams.

WR Josh Pearson

Two targets and two drops in the best receiver room in the NFL is not going to win you many post-cut opportunities. Pearson has no shot at making the Bucs roster, but the preseason could have been a nice audition for him to grab a depth spot elsewhere. Instead Pearson dropped Trask’s best throw of the night, an arcing deep shot down the right sideline. He also let an underneath pass slip through his hands on the very next drive. Pearson already lacks great speed and athleticism, so his ball skills need to be a stronger selling point than they currently are.