The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are heading toward the point where practice reps stop being enough. With the first preseason game arriving later this week, the roster picture is about to sharpen fast, and the pressure is on for players trying to hold onto one of the 53 spots that will be carved out from a 90-man roster.
A few names are already safe. Others are fighting to stay in the conversation. For Chris Braswell and Devin Culp, the clock is ticking.
Braswell, an outside linebacker, has not come close to matching the expectations that came with being a second-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. In two seasons, he has just 2.5 sacks, and the competition around him has only gotten tougher.
Tampa Bay reshaped that edge group this offseason by signing Al-Quadin Muhammad in free agency and using the No. 15 overall pick on Rueben Bain Jr. Muhammad arrives after an 11-sack season in Detroit, while Bain is expected to step in as a day one starter opposite Yaya Diaby. The Bucs also have David Walker back from injury, and he’s been the buzz of camp after stacking eight straight practices with a sack.
That leaves Braswell squeezed into a crowded battle for what looks like the fifth and likely final outside linebacker job. Anthony Nelson is the main obstacle, and he brings a much steadier résumé into the fight. He has been with the team since 2019 and has posted at least three sacks in five straight seasons.
Braswell still has time to alter the storyline, and the team wants him to make it work. But right now, the former second-rounder is trending like a player who may not survive the cut unless he shows something soon in camp and the preseason.
Culp is in a similar spot at tight end. A seventh-round pick in 2024, he came into the league with the kind of athletic profile that can make a receiving tight end dangerous.
The production, though, has not followed. Over two seasons, he has six catches for 94 yards and a touchdown.
The issue for Culp is that the depth chart behind Cade Otton is getting crowded in a hurry. The Buccaneers used a sixth-round pick on Bauer Sharp this year, and he has turned heads all offseason through OTAs, minicamp, and training camp.
Ko Kieft and Payne Durham are also in the mix, and both offer more reliable blocking than Culp. Kieft’s special teams value only helps him, especially after he signed a one-year extension earlier this offseason.
If Culp can’t carve out a clearer role before camp wraps and the preseason games begin, his run in Tampa Bay may be nearing the end.
In Other News...
Bucs Fans Cant Ignore Ted Hursts Early Mike Evans Buzz
With Mike Evans no longer in the receiver picture, the Buccaneers spent a third-round pick on Ted Hurst to help fill the void, and early camp has only added to the intrigue. The rookie has already turned heads with the kind of physical, above-the-rim play that tends to stand out in Tampa Bay, drawing notice from both the media and teammates as he works into a crowded room of returning pass catchers.
For a team that has leaned on Evans for years, the appeal is obvious: Hurst looks like a receiver who can win in traffic and give the offense another contested-catch threat. Todd Bowles has been complimentary about the rookie's skill set, and the Bucs still plan to bring him along carefully rather than ask him to carry the load right away, but the early buzz has been loud enough to make this one of the more interesting camp developments on offense. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Future Up Front Is Suddenly A Real Vita Vea Question
The Buccaneers long-term picture up front is getting more interesting by the day, and it starts with the possibility that they may eventually have to plan around Vita Veas exit as much as his presence. Athlon Sports draft analyst Luke Easterling recently projected Tampa Bay to take Oregon defensive lineman AMauri Washington at No. 24 overall in a 2027 mock draft, a move that speaks less to immediate need than to how the team could be thinking about the future of its interior line.
Vea is 31 and has requested a trade, though the Bucs are not expected to act on that request right away. Still, the idea of targeting a replacement years in advance says plenty about how important his role remains and how tricky it can be to maintain that kind of anchor in the middle of a defense. Even if Tampa Bay keeps Vea in place for now, the eventual succession plan is already starting to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers O-Line Could Be What Finally Unlocks This Offense
After a 2025 season in which injuries kept the offensive line from ever really settling in, the Buccaneers head into 2026 with a chance to make continuity a strength instead of a question. Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke remain central to that effort, giving Tampa Bay a foundation to build around as the group tries to hold together long enough to find a rhythm in a new offensive system.
The bigger issue now is whether the line can stay healthy and let the younger pieces develop without the kind of shuffling that usually slows everything down. If that happens, the Buccaneers could finally get a clearer read on what this offense looks like when the front five is working in sync, rather than patching holes on the fly. [Read more 🡒]