The Buccaneers have waived defensive end Jacquies Smith, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Smith, 27, had established himself as a serviceable edge rusher (13.5 sacks from 2014-15) before a torn ACL ended his 2016 campaign after only one game. After working his way back to full health, Smith had played in his first contest of the year during Week 4, but saw action on only seven snaps, as Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.
Because he’s not a vested veteran, Smith will now go through the NFL’s waiver system, allowing each club a chance to grab a young pass rusher. It shouldn’t be a surprise if Smith is claimed in the coming days, especially since he drew interest as a restricted free agent earlier this year. The only questions teams may have, of course, are in regards to Smith’s health.
By cutting ties with Smith, Tampa Bay could now use that empty roster spot to address other areas of need, and Auman speculates (Twitter link) the Buccaneers could potentially add reinforcements in the secondary.