Chris McDonald

Buccaneers Set 53-Man Roster

The Buccaneers surprised a bit in 2023 without Tom Brady in the lineup. With Baker Mayfield leading the way, the team managed to win their division and return to the postseason for the fourth-straight season. Before the team can look to make it five consecutive trips to the playoffs, the organization had to make some difficult roster decisions today. The team announced the following moves as they set their 53-man roster:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Placed on IR:

The Buccaneers have continued their trend of building around draft picks. As Greg Auman of FOX Sports points out, 44 of Tampa Bay’s 53 players were either drafted by the organization or joined as an undrafted free agent. Among starters, the only players who didn’t join the organization as rooks are QB Baker Mayfield and guard Ben Bredeson.

The team will temporarily roll with only a pair of quarterbacks in Mayfield and backup Kyle Trask. John Wolford could have brought some starting experience to the QB room, as the former Ram started four games during his time in Los Angeles. The veteran also started the 2023 campaign on Tampa Bay’s p-squad before earning a promotion, so there’s a chance he follows a similar path this year.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/26/24

There have been plenty of posts today about a number of teams releasing and waiving players ahead of roster cuts. Here are the best of the rest of the minor moves for Monday:

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Waived: DE Justin Blazek

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

  • Waived: DE Levi Bell
  • Released: C Mike Panasiuk

Las Vegas Raiders

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Waived: CB Willie Roberts

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Nelson was an effective swing tackle for the Lions in the past three years. While he wasn’t able to stick with the Giants, he’s likely to draw interest elsewhere in the NFL.

The Eagles like Sam a lot at safety, but with a number of veterans atop the depth chart, there wasn’t room for him on the roster. The team plans to retain him on the practice squad should he clear waivers, per Andrew DiCecco of 975 The Fanatic. The Buccaneers have similar plans with Isaac, Taula, and Wisdom.

Buccaneers Add 16 UDFAs

Tampa Bay’s rookie minicamp will feature seven draftees, but also 16 UDFAs. Here is the full list regarding the latter additions:

  • Zack Annexstad, QB (Illinois State)
  • Marcus Banks, S (Mississippi State)
  • Judge Culpepper, DL (Toledo)
  • Xavier Delgado, G (Missouri)
  • Kalen DeLoach, LB (Florida State)
  • Tyrek Funderburk, CB (Appalachian State)
  • Antonio Grier, LB (Arkansas)
  • Daniel Grzesiak, OLB (Cincinnati)
  • Kameron Johnson, WR (Barton College)
  • Avery Jones, G (Auburn)
  • Latreal Jones, WR (Southern Mississippi)
  • Tanner Knue, WR (Eastern Michigan)
  • Chris McDonald, CB (Toledo)
  • Shaun Peterson, OLB (UCF)
  • DJ Williams, RB (Arizona)
  • Rashad Wisdom, S (UTSA)

Culpepper is the son of Brad Culpepper, who played six seasons in Tampa Bay. The younger Culpepper transferred from Penn State to Toledo in 2021. He earned first-team All-MAC honors in 2023, leading the team in sacks (nine) and tackles for loss (10.5). He received $100K in guarantees, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2.

Rocket teammate McDonald has also landed a notable commitment from Tampa Bay. He received $95K in guaranteed money, Wilson reports. McDonald spent his entire college career at Toledo and he racked up 32 pass breakups (including eight in 2023). He earned a third-team All-Conference nod last season, and will look to earn a depth spot in the Bucs’ secondary this summer.

The top of Tampa Bay’s QB depth chart is set given the investment made in Baker Mayfield this offseason. The team also has Kyle Trask and John Wolford in place as backup options, but Annexstad will aim to compete for the QB3 role or a practice squad place as a developmental option. He earned the starting spot during his freshman season at Minnesota, but the campaign was cut short through injury. The 6-3, 220-pounder transferred to Illinois State in 2022 and during his time there he racked up 3,547 passing yards along with a 27:12 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Ben Levine contributed to this post.