As much as there’s excitement over regular season football beginning in over a week, it’s still a difficult time for the Bucs front office as they have to go over a litany of roster cuts. Bucs general manager Jason Licht and head coach Todd Bowles will be the first to tell you that it isn’t easy, especially at several positions.

There were certain moves this year that maybe stood out than others on why they were made. Licht and Bowles were able to explain these choices as we spoke to them on consecutive days and they revealed what positions were the most difficult to decide on.

Bucs’ Most Difficult Roster Cuts

“These decisions are made throughout camp,” Licht said. “I think Todd and I are pretty much on the same page. We didn’t make (decisions) at the final moment. We had some depth at receiver, we had some depth at outside linebacker, we ended up keeping six. You have to take a look at what you think you can get back on the practice squad. I think those were some of the tough ones. They’re all tough, releasing players. This week typically is never an easy time for any of us but we got through it and now we move forward.”

Bucs general manager Jason Licht – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Part of the puzzle as Jason Licht depicted is players that you still want but also believe can make it through waivers and get back on their practice squad. That’s why Kameron Johnson made the initial team over someone like Cody Thompson, who isn’t as appealing to the outside. Building depth at edge rusher also factored in considering Markees Watts can also play on special teams. And it’s that area that also played a huge role.

“It was really the cross positions where you’re weighing the outside [linebacker] against the sixth [wide] receiver and that type of stuff,” Bowles said. “But we felt that it’s hard to get pass rushers in this league and hopefully we can get [the wide receivers] through to the practice squad and bring them up as needed.”

What was also important to point out was that the current iteration of this roster may look different at pretty much any moment.

“It’s still fluid,” Licht said. “There’s still players that to be quite frank, you never know how things (go). We always have our eye on other players that may not be on the team tomorrow. That’s just the way it goes. It’s like the practice squad, it’s very fluid. What we put together today may not be the same thing as next week.”

Jason Licht Responds To How Deep The Bucs Are

Exactly a week ago, Bowles was asked if this was the deepest team that he’s coached. His reply was “absolutely not.” On Wednesday, Licht pointed out that just because it’s not the deepest doesn’t mean the Bucs are in a bad spot.

“You could be coming off back-to-back Super Bowls and think you’re thin in some areas,” Licht said. “Todd’s been a part of some very deep teams, so to say that this isn’t the deepest team doesn’t necessarily mean that we think we’re weak in areas. It’s just maybe not as deep as it was in 2020 when we won the Super Bowl.”

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Bucs Have Drafted Well

An interesting accomplishment that the Bucs have is 44 out of 53 players on the roster were either drafted by the Bucs or signed as an undrafted free agent. That shows how well Tampa Bay has done bringing players in throughout the years. Licht gave the credit to his staff as he typically does and Bowles expanded further on the achievement.

“It’s great to have them,” Bowles said. “That means you’re drafting the right guys if they can make the team and contribute. If you’re drafting 44 of them and you’ve only got about 15 of them [still on the roster], that doesn’t say a whole bunch. It says a lot about the front office and the draft process [and] about the coaches preparing them and getting them ready to play. You find players everywhere. Whether they’re free agents or whether they’re draft picks, you want the best guys on your team.”

Ultimately, building this roster isn’t about just acquiring the best talent. There are so many other factors that are involved in having a winning team. The Bucs plan on having another successful year with Licht and Bowles operating it.

“It’s more about picking the right guy than it is picking the best guy,” Bowles said. “The right guy that fits us – or any team for that matter – is important to pick. They do a good job at that and there’s a good collaboration.”