The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are heading into the final week of the preseason, and the 53-man roster picture is getting clearer by the day. With final cuts looming over the weekend, several players find themselves on the outside looking in.

These five Buccaneers need an absolute Hail Mary if they want to survive roster cuts. 

1. EDGE Chris Braswell

This might be low-hanging fruit, but it’s still valid, especially with last week’s developments. The former second-round pick just hasn’t been able to get it done during his first few years in Tampa Bay, and the offseason additions the Buccaneers made to the edge room immediately shoved Braswell down the depth chart. He’s at best the sixth edge rusher on the depth chart right now, and guys like Jack Pyburn have already made bigger splashes.

Here’s the latest development: Braswell missed practice time last week due to an injury and didn’t play in the game. That’s the last thing a player in his position needs. Missing time when you’re fighting for a roster spot is going to be the last straw.

We haven’t heard anything from coach Todd Bowles on whether Braswell will practice this week. The Bucs are traveling Monday, with joint practices against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Tuesday and Wednesday before Friday night’s game. We should get an idea as early as Tuesday. But if Braswell isn’t on the field this week, it’s lights out.

Sure, he was a pretty solid special teamer last year, believe it or not. But the Buccaneers are looking like they’ll carry three quarterbacks on this roster, and that’s going to have a severe domino effect on the rest of the roster math. Without a Herculean effort that makes everybody say, “Okay, now this is who we thought when we drafted him,” I don’t see how he bounces back.

He’s got to be on the field to make that happen, and if he’s not, good luck and good night.

2. TE Devin Culp

We’ve talked about Culp in the past as a guy who really needs to step up. Bauer Sharp has shown some promise, and then there’s the question of Cade Otton and his knee injury. How long is that going to keep Otton out? Will he start on short-term IR? Will the Buccaneers use one of those two early designations when roster cuts come around? That would theoretically open the door for Culp, but I don’t think it’s going to be enough.

Again, with the quarterback situation and the domino effect it creates, Tampa Bay might just carry three tight ends even with Otton injured. Ko Kieft splashed last week, catching a touchdown pass from Jalon Daniels. Sure, it was a 2-yarder, but if Kieft’s getting in the end zone and you’re not, that’s a problem, especially when you’re a better athlete like Culp.

Culp has got to turn it on this weekend. He needs big plays in joint practice and in the game on Friday night. I’m not talking about 100 yards and three touchdowns, but he needs something like a five-reception, 50-yard, one touchdown-type day where he’s on the field making plays on a consistent basis.

So far, he just hasn’t been able to do that, even in practices. That’s the only way Culp makes this roster.

3. QB Connor Bazelak

This is simply a byproduct of Jalon Daniels’ performance over the last two weeks. The Buccaneers literally sat Bazelak last week to get Daniels more work since Jake Browning was back in the routine and ready to play. I don’t see a world where Daniels doesn’t get more reps this weekend. I don’t think Baker Mayfield is going to play, which means Browning will be in the mix as well.

So how much time is Bazelak going to get? You’d think based on what Bowles said last week, he’d be the next man up. At the same time, if I’m this coaching staff, I want to see more of Daniels, especially given the mental side of things and the QB-center exchange issues he’s been having. We saw it against the Kansas City Chiefs. I still want to see what this kid can do because he’s gotten better from week to week. If that means cutting into Bazelak’s playtime, so be it.

That’s why Bazelak, when he does play this weekend, has got to absolutely ball out. I’m talking a Daniels-level performance. He needs to lead a touchdown drive or two, as Daniels is the only quarterback who’s done that so far during the preseason. Bazelak’s yards per attempt in the first week was just awful. I think it was less than five yards per attempt if I remember correctly. That’s not what you want to see from the quarterback position.

If he doesn’t get it done, he’s heading back to the practice squad. That isn’t a terrible thing. Practice squad guys make good money, and they have a shot to play during the regular season. But he’s got to step up or else it’s back to the PS.

4. IOL Luke Haggard

Haggard is about the fourth or fifth, maybe even the sixth-graded interior offensive lineman on this team right now, and that includes starters. That’s just not going to fly. PFF grades aren’t the end-all be-all, but Haggard hasn’t stepped up like Elijah Klein or Dan Feeney have.

The key here goes back to roster math. The Buccaneers are currently in limbo with their top tackles, excluding Luke Goedeke. Tristan Wirfs, Benjamin Chukwuma, and Justin Skule all missed the Chiefs game on Saturday night. Chukwuma missed practice last week as well. If those guys go into the regular season nicked up to the point where the left tackle position is in flux, that’s going to cancel out one of those interior offensive linemen spots. Tampa Bay will probably put one of those tackles on short-term IR because carrying five tackles overall on the 53-man roster makes zero sense.

Still, the roster math isn’t working in Haggard’s favor. He’s really got to step up because his play over the first two games has been okay, not the step forward you’d expect from a guy who started a few games last year and played over 200 snaps. That’s a solid amount for a developmental player.

If he goes out there and mauls guys, holds his own in pass protection, that should be enough to maybe surpass Feeney or Klein. However, those two have been playing well themselves over the last couple of weeks. 

5. DL Elijah Simmons

With Vita Vea back in the fold, the Buccaneers have their top six defensive linemen and they’re not putting Vea on short-term IR. The three-quarterback scenario means Tampa Bay isn’t going to carry more than six defensive linemen on this roster. You’ve got Calijah Kancey, Vea, A’Shawn Robinson, Nacho, Damonte Capehart, and Elijah Roberts. There’s your six, and all of them are warranted. I don’t think anybody’s bumping them out.

Unless Simmons totally goes off the rails in a good way and is pushing the pocket, eating up gaps, I don’t think he’s making the 53-man roster. Going to the practice squad isn’t a bad thing, and we’ve seen Simmons play some solid snaps when his name gets called up. But he’s got to really get it done this week, or unfortunately it’s the end of the road for his chances of making the 2026 53-man roster.