The Bucs’ third and final preseason game of the year will take place on Friday in Jacksonville against the Jaguars, with whom Tampa Bay has had a chippy week of joint practice.

Friday night will be the final chance for a number of Buccaneers to prove to Todd Bowles and his staff that they deserve to be on the 53-man roster. As usual, there will be some tough choices and close calls for a number of hopefuls.

Pro Football Focus’ Bradley Locker sees Bucs edge rusher Chris Braswell as truly on the bubble to make the Bucs’ roster, listing him among his 10 players squarely on the bubble going into the preseason finale.

But, in reality, that ship has probably already sailed for Braswell.

Pro Football Focus lists Bucs EDGE Chris Braswell as on the roster bubble

“Braswell has been largely unspectacular over two years with the Buccaneers,” Locker wrote. “Limited to just 618 snaps, the former Alabama standout has accrued 35 pressures on 322 pass-rushing snaps but has garnered just a 61.0 overall PFF grade.

“Although the former 57^th overall pick enters only his third pro campaign, he was put on notice this offseason when Tampa Bay drafted Rueben Bain Jr. in the first round and signed Al-Quadin Muhammad. Also complicating the situation is the performance of other edge defenders in the preseason, such as Anthony Nelson (92.6 overall PFF grade) and David Walker (80.5 PFF pass-rush grade). Coming off a 34.4 overall grade in Week 1 of the preseason, Braswell missed the Buccaneers’ second contest and may need a good outing against the Jaguars to firmly make the roster.”

The hard truth is that the bubble has likely already popped

Bucs fans are away of Braswell’s struggles the last two years. Taken in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft by Tampa Bay, Braswell’s potential has never materialized. In two years, he’s totaled 2.5 sacks in 34 games. That just doesn’t cut it.

At this point, there’s little doubt that Braswell falls behind all four of the Bucs outside linebackers that Locker mentioned. Bain is entrenched as the future, as is Yaya Diaby. Muhammad is a proven commodity, with double-digit sacks last year. Walker has been a menace this preseason, and Nelson has been solid.

And if the Bucs keep a sixth OLB (which would be even more remote a possibility if the Bucs carry three QBs), even Jack Pyburn and Mo Kamara have done more on the defensive side of the ball this preseason.

In reality, it feels like five is the number at outside linebacker for the Bucs, and if that’s the case, it feels like Braswell is going to get bumped out of town. At this point, a clean break and reset feels like the best result for both sides.