The Bucs are out of training camp, the preseason is in the books, and now the real roster work begins.
With Tampa Bay’s preseason finale against the Jaguars already behind them, the focus has shifted squarely to Sunday’s 6:00 p.m. deadline, when the team must trim its roster from 90 players to 53. General manager Jason Licht, head coach Todd Bowles and the rest of the personnel staff are now in the middle of the hardest part of the calendar: deciding who stays, who goes and which bubble players did enough to survive.
Some of those moves are already coming through. Fox Sports’ Greg Auman reported six cuts for the Bucs: QB Connor Bazelak, RB Barika Kpeenu, TE Kenny Fletcher, OG Nash Hutmacher, DT Travis Shaw and LB John Bullock.
Auman posted: “Up to six cuts reported here for Bucs, none that surprising:
QB Connor Bazelak
RB Barika Kpeenu
TE Kenny Fletcher
G Nash Hutmacher
DT Travis Shaw
LB John Bullock
- Greg Auman (@gregauman) August 29, 2026”
Those are just the first names off the board, and more moves could come in waves before the deadline hits.
The most interesting decisions still looming for Tampa Bay appear to be at quarterback, where the team has to choose between keeping three passers or narrowing the group to two. If it goes with two, the call comes down to veteran Jake Browning or rookie Jalon Daniels.
Running back is another spot to watch, with Sean Tucker carrying a $3.52 million price tag as RB3 while Josh Williams offers the cheaper option. Wide receiver is also unsettled because of injuries at the position, and inside linebacker may force a difficult choice if the Bucs want to make room for rookie Caden Fordham, even if that means moving on from the now-veteran SirVocea Dennis.
Tampa Bay also has work to do beyond the 53-man roster. The team will be building out a 16-player practice squad, or 17 if it decides to keep offensive tackle Paul Rubelt as an international player.
The Bucs’ regular season now points to Sept. 13, when they head to Cincinnati to face the Bengals in Week 1. But first comes the roster squeeze, and the next couple of days should tell the story of which camp standouts made the cut.
In Other News...
Jalon Daniels Just Put Tampa Bay's Backup QB Battle In Focus
The Buccaneers final preseason game turned into a long night for the offense, with rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels getting the start and little help around him in a 19-0 loss to the Jaguars. Tampa Bay mustered only 87 total yards, and Daniels finished 8 of 15 for 57 yards while taking three sacks, a rough outing in a game that featured scoring from all three phases for Jacksonville.
For a team still sorting out its backup quarterback picture, the performance put the spotlight right where it needed to be. The Jaguars scored on a field goal, a touchdown pass with a two-point conversion, and a punt return touchdown with another two-point conversion, leaving the Buccaneers with plenty to sort through after a preseason finale that offered few answers and raised a few more questions. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Roster Battles Took A Back Seat To One Alarming Twist
The Buccaneers final preseason game against the Jaguars was supposed to be one last chance for fringe players to make their case, and there were still a few individual auditions worth noting. Pyburn flashed, Riley Dixon had a strong showing, and the staff got a last look at a roster group that also included players like Jalon Daniels, who had a tougher night as Tampa Bays offense sputtered in a 19-0 loss.
But the bigger story quickly moved beyond the usual roster math. Tampa Bays offensive line and receivers had trouble generating much of anything, and the game took a much more serious turn when Mo Kamara went down with a knee injury that appeared severe. For a team trying to sort out the back end of its roster, the injury introduced a far more immediate concern than who made the cut. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Suddenly Face A Jack Pyburn Decision They Didn't Expect
An undrafted rookie who has already made a favorable impression in camp, Jack Pyburn has pushed himself into the Buccaneers late-summer conversation at linebacker. His preseason performance has only added to the intrigue, turning what might have been a straightforward roster call into a more complicated evaluation for Tampa Bay as it tries to sort out the back end of the defense.
Pyburns on-field case is only part of the story now. He is also tied up in a legal battle against the NCAA as he seeks to regain another year of college eligibility, even though he has already signed a professional contract with the Buccaneers, a situation that is both unusual and controversial. The NCAA has opposed players returning to college after signing NFL deals, which leaves Tampa Bay watching a precedent-setting case while still having to decide whether Pyburn is worth a roster spot. [Read more 🡒]