Bucs face 3 risky decisions ahead of final roster cuts they could regret if things don’t work in their favor
The Bucs are going to have to weigh these decisions a bit heavier than they would the others.
It’s officially decision time for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Roster cuts are right around the corner now that training camp and the preseason are over.
“We’ll get going tomorrow,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles told reporters Saturday night when asked when the team will begin the cutdown process. “[There are] some easy ones, some will go into Monday, but we’ll look at everything tomorrow and start sometime late morning, early afternoon. We’ll get going from there and see what we got.”
As Bowles mentioned, there will be some easy decisions. However, there will be several tough choices to make due to certain circumstances (mainly injuries) and some of the players chosen to be cut could get swiped by another team via the waiver process. Or, they could simply sign with another team if they are a vested veteran. Only players with three or less accrued seasons will go through waivers.
There are three players that fall into the “swipe-able” category and the Bucs will certainly run the risk of losing these guys if they’re cut. That’s part of the game, though, and it always adds a layer of intrigue to the final outcome.
So, who are these guys? Let’s find out.
RB Josh Williams
I firmly believe Williams makes the 53-man roster if the Bucs weren’t experiencing the unique injury situations they’re facing. Jason Licht, along with the coaching staff really likes what he can do and he was turning heads before a training camp injury derailed a lot of his momentum.
The injury, along with the fact the Buccaneers have one of the best running back rooms from RB1 to RB3, are factors that can leave Williams on the outside looking in by the time Tuesday’s deadline rolls around.
At the same time, the league is aware of Williams’ skill set and what he can do on the field. He even showed off some ability in the return game against the Buffalo Bills, which only helps his stock and adds value to a potential roster spot.
If the Bucs end up cutting Williams, it’ll be with the tightest of crossed fingers, simply because the rest of the NFL could use a rotational/developmental guy like the former LSU Tiger.
“I just wanted to show them the player that they know I am,” Williams told reporters after the Bills game. “They really took a shot on me, bringing me in here from LSU as an undrafted guy…They knew they could bring any other guy in. I just wanted to show them that they didn’t waste a pick on who I am and what I could do for the team.”
QB Teddy Bridgewater
Bowles made it very clear after Saturday night’s loss to the Bills that the QB2 competition is wide open heading into final roster cuts.
“Nothing out there has been decided right now,” Bowles said when asked if Kyle Trask solidified himself as the Bucs’ backup QB. “We’ll talk about everything as a group when we talk about it. We’ll get that down tomorrow and go from there.”
Bridgewater didn’t play against the Bills because he was “extremely ill”, but per Bowles, that didn’t halt any momentum nor impact the evaluation of the veteran quarterback. While Trask played well against the Tennessee Titans and Bills, he was stale against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Bridgewater shined by leading two touchdown drives that ended with really good throws that resulted in six points, apiece.
The Bucs have always liked Trask and he knows the system better than Bridgewater. However, what team wouldn’t want a selfless veteran like him on their roster? Especially after he played well just 12 days after joining the team? Make no mistake, the Buccaneers would be taking on a major gamble by cutting Bridgewater and while there’s always the “handshake agreement” that can happen with veterans, there’s no guarantee Teddy B. is a Buc if he’s cut.
LB Nick Jackson
Jackson is the lesser risk out of the three and there’s also a chance he makes the roster if Anthony Walker remains on the NFI list. Regardless, he had a helluva preseason, finishing with 14 total tackles, 2.0 sacks, an interception, two tackles for loss, a QB hit, and a pass deflection.
The tackles and sacks both lead the Bucs and the latter stat is currently tied for the fifth-most out of all defenders. Granted, not every game has been logged/accounted for at the time of publication, but you still get the point. Jackson has done more than his fair share of making plays and he’s done it at a high clip when putting his performances into a league-wide context.
He also showed some special teams ability, which is crucial for a player of his current standing. There’s definitely a world where a team really likes what they’ve seen and grabs Jackson off waivers after the Buccaneers hypothetically cut him.
There are more names like Sua Opeta and Bryce Hall, but these three guys are the Bucs’ riskiest decisions when talking final cuts and it’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out.
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