Tampa Bay Buccaneers player switches positions in order to improve his chances of surviving final roster cuts
The Buccaneers are in the early stages of their offseason workout plan and one player is changing positions in order to better his odds of making the final roster in August.
A big chunk of building the Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster is certainly made up of adding the best players possible. It’s also a numbers game.
For instance, a team could have five legitimate tight ends on its roster. All five guys could be contributors elsewhere, whether it’s a starting role or a depth/rotational role. Unfortunately one, or even two of them, will get cut simply because it’s very rare for a team to carry more than four tight ends on a 53-man roster.
Such is the case for Buccaneers second-year player, Nash Hutmacher, who is switching positions. Per FOX Sports’ Greg Auman, Hutmacher will move from defensive line to guard. It’s a move that makes sense for a couple of reasons.
The defensive line position is one of the deepest groups on the Buccaneers roster
Put it this way: The Bucs’ defensive line room currently has 12 players in it. The team will carry six, at most, and the top-5 of those guys are pretty much set.
Calijah Kancey, Vita Vea, A’Shawn Robinson, Elijah Roberts, and Rakeem Nunez-Roches and/or Elijah Simmons are all more-than-viable bets to make the roster unless something crazy happens. So, unless the group is hit with a rash of injuries or Hutmacher just Hulks Out during the offseas0n, his chances of making the roster as a defensive lineman are almost zero.
The situation is a lot different at guard, however
The Buccaneers’ depth at guard is nowhere near the same story and Hutmacher will only compete with six other guys. The Bucs should carry around 2-3 guards behind Ben Bredeson and Cody Mauch and that number could increase, depending on what happens with Ben Chukwuma and Justin Skule at swing tackle.
Hutmacher’s odds of making the team have already vastly improved, simply due to the numbers situation. There’s also the fact none of the depth guys are really set in stone. Sure, there are leads and favorites, but there are no “locks” or anything, by any means.
The other batch of good news for Hutmacher is not only did he play on the offensive line in high school, but he already has a solid build for the position at 6-foot-4, 310 pounds.
He could probably stand to add about 10 pounds, but that should be relatively easy in an NFL strength and conditioning program. There’s also his wrestling background to take into account. That’s a great skillset to have at guard and just along the offensive line, in general. As we’ve seen with a guy named Tristan Wirfs, who’s pretty good in his own right.
It’ll be a cool storyline to follow as the offseason progresses. Hutmacher has definitely improved his chances of making the team just by switching sides.
Editor’s Note: There weren’t any licensed photos of Hutmacher in his Buccaneers uniform, so we used a picture of him back in college at the University of Nebraska.