The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are gearing up for NFL preseason action, and there will be some intriguing decisions made when it comes to the roster bubble ahead of the regular season.
Coming off of a surprising playoff run in 2023, the Buccaneers are looking to build off of that success to try to return to the playoffs. Tampa Bay did a lot of work retaining and extending its own players this offseason. It started off with retaining Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans, who were scheduled to be free agents. Mayfield had a surprising season after short stints with the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams. Then, cornerstone players in Antoine Winfield Jr. and Tristan Wirfs signed big extensions as well. Winfield became the highest-paid defensive back when he signed his deal, and although Wirfs did hold out into training camp a bit, a deal eventually did get done.
Still, the Buccaneers want the depth of their team to improve so they can maybe improve their record this season. There are three players who could be in danger of losing their spot with a poor showing in training camp and preseason. Let's get to them.
Ko Kieft, Tight End
When it comes to the tight end position for the Buccaneers, the battle is for the second spot on the depth chart behind Cade Otton. That battle is between Ko Kieft and Payne Durham. The loser of that battle could find themselves on the way out of Tampa Bay.
Neither Ko Kieft or Durham have been particularly impressive so far in their careers with the Buccaneers. It is also likely unwise to rule out the possibility of Devin Culp leapfrogging either of these players on the depth chart. It will be interesting to see how the tight end room looks after the preseason. Kieft could use a nice showing.
Chase Edmonds, Running Back
The Buccaneers are hoping that their running game improves this year, specifically due to some of the offensive line upgrades the team made this offseason. Rachaad White will be the top running back, while Bucky Irving was selected in this year's NFL Draft, so those two are essential locks for the roster, leaving not much room for veteran running back Chase Edmonds.
There should be a roster spot for another running back on the Buccaneers' roster, but that just means that it will be a tight squeeze for Edmonds. He could use a good showing in the preseason to show he can still help a team and lock up a roster spot.
Randy Gregory, EDGE
Outside of the re-signings of Mayfield and Evans, and the extensions of Winfield and Wirfs, the signing of Randy Gregory is one of the more notable moves of the offseason. He was released after two disappointing seasons. He signed a big deal with the Denver Broncos in 2022 and was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in the middle of the 2023 season.
Gregory's contract with the Buccaneers is for one year and worth $3 million, so he has to prove that he can still bring something. If not, he could be a candidate to be cut.
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