As the Buccaneers prepare to cut down from 75 players to 53, they know they will have some tough choices to make. One option they apparently won’t consider is having only two quarterbacks on the final roster. Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter explained that he would ideally like to keep two QBs on the team with one signal caller on the practice squad, but he does not believe that third-stringer Ryan Griffin would survive the waiver process (via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times). 
“I feel great about that room. I think we have good depth,” Koetter said. “If it was a perfect world, we are getting to the point where it would be better for our football team if we could keep two quarterbacks because we’re going to have to let some guys go that we don’t want to let go. And I think the perfect set-up with the way the NFL is structured right now, is two quarterbacks and one on practice squad. But if you have a good one and you try to put him on practice squad, the league is so short of quarterbacks, he’ll get scooped up like that…I think it’s safe (to say) that we’re probably going to keep three quarterbacks.”
In March, Koetter indicated that Griffin would be capable of backing up starter Jameis Winston in the event that Mike Glennon was traded. With that kind of confidence in Griffin, it makes sense that they would want to retain him.
Meanwhile, the Buccaneers are less inclined to trade Glennon now than they were in the spring. Glennon is poised to hit the open market after the 2016 season and if he goes elsewhere, the Bucs will receive a compensatory pick for him. If another team – say, the Vikings – wants to trade for Glennon, they’ll really have to make it worth it for the Buccaneers. For now, the Bucs like the security of having two quality backups behind Winston and an additional future draft choice.
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