HEADLINES

Nick Leverett

Buccaneers Fear Season-Ending Knee Injury For C Ryan Jensen

July 29th, 2022 at 12:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

JULY 29: The Bucs indeed fear Jensen will be out for the season, Rapoport adds. Todd Bowles confirmed Friday the team’s starting center will miss a significant amount of time (video links). The new Tampa Bay HC did not say Jensen would miss the entire season, mentioning a potential multi-month timeline.

The Bucs have already discussed bringing in a veteran, per Bowles, though the fourth-year Tampa Bay staffer said these discussions have not progressed too far just yet. Hainsey, a right tackle at Notre Dame who converted to the interior as a pro, is expected to receive the first crack at replacing Jensen, per Rapoport. Nick Leverett, a former UDFA who played in two games last season, is also in the mix.

JULY 28: A cart transported Buccaneers center Ryan Jensen off the practice field Thursday, and the team is concerned about a long-term absence. The Bucs fear the recently re-signed snapper suffered a serious injury, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com report (on Twitter).

These reports indeed usually precede bad news for teams. The Bucs just gave Jensen a second contract — a three-year, $39MM deal — to return as Tom Brady‘s center. Tests are ongoing here, but a source informed ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter this situation is “not looking good” for the veteran blocker (Twitter link). Jensen is dealing with a major injury, per Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (on Twitter). His season is certainly in jeopardy.

Offensive line continuity played a big part in the Bucs’ surge to the Super Bowl LV championship, but the 2021 playoffs and this offseason have brought uncertainty to Tampa Bay’s front. This year has injected considerable O-line change, with longtime guard Ali Marpet retiring and the Bucs letting their other guard starter — Alex Cappa — defect to the Bengals in free agency. A Jensen absence would create a new issue for the Bucs, who will have the oldest primary starting quarterback in NFL history.

Jensen’s recommitment to the Bucs came just after Brady’s; the ninth-year center re-signed with the team hours after Brady’s unretirement. Jensen has established himself as one of the NFL’s top centers, having moved from sixth-round pick to using a contract-year springboard with the Ravens to a 2018 Bucs deal. On that pact, Jensen did not miss a game. The Colorado State-Pueblo alum has not missed a game since the 2016 season. Jensen, 31, made his first Pro Bowl last season.

Tampa Bay did trade a Day 3 pick to acquire Shaq Mason, reuniting Brady with one of his longtime Patriots guards. But the team could soon be vulnerable at two guard positions. With interior O-line play vital to Brady-led offenses, the Bucs could be in need of another veteran reinforcement. While it is premature here, center does feature an interestingly experienced free agent crop. J.C. Tretter, Matt Paradis and Trey Hopkins remain available.

For now, Robert Hainsey will take over at the pivot, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Competing for the other guard spot with second-round pick Luke Goedeke and the recently re-signed Aaron Stinnie, Hainsey is a third-round pick in his second season. Tampa Bay quickly addressed the Rob Gronkowski void by signing Kyle Rudolph. If Jensen is set to miss a substantial amount of time, it would not remotely surprise if Tampa Bay signed one of the top free agent snappers.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/28/21

August 28th, 2021 at 4:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Saturday’s minor moves. Teams have until 3pm CT Tuesday to cut their rosters down to 53 players.

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Buccaneers Sign 11 Players To Futures Deals

February 10th, 2021 at 9:17am CST by Zachary Links

The Super Bowl champs have signed eleven players to reserve/futures contracts for 2021. Shortly after their boat parade, the Buccaneers announced low-cost deals for:

The list mostly draws from the team’s year-end practice squad, save for Leverett who was dropped in the postseason for the returning Earl Watford. Now, the Bucs will work to keep the band together with wide receivers Antonio Brown and Chris Godwin, tight end Rob Gronkowski, and edge rusher Shaquil Barrett among those scheduled for free agency.

Buccaneers Add LB Deone Bucannon To Practice Squad

January 6th, 2021 at 6:17pm CST by Ben Levine

Deone Bucannon has landed back in Tampa Bay. The team announced that they’ve signed the linebacker to their practice squad. To make room, the team released guard Nick Leverett from the practice squad (via The Athletic’s Greg Auman on Twitter).

Linebacker Devin White remains on the reserve/COVID-19 list, and it’s uncertain if he’ll be able to suit up for Saturday’s Wild Card matchup against Washington. At the very least, Bucannon will provide Tampa Bay will some extra depth at the position during practice this week. At the very best, Bucannon could find himself elevated to the roster, with Scott Smith of the team website noting that the veteran is a “candidate” for a promotion.

Bucannon, 28, has plenty of experience with the Buccaneers’ defense, having played five games for the team in 2019 and played four seasons under Bucs head coach Bruce Arians in Arizona. The linebacker split his 2019 campaign between the Buccaneers and Giants, compiling 28 tackles in 14 games. It’s been a while since Bucannon was a full-time starter, but he averaged 71 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1.5 forced fumbles, and three passes defended in 14.3 games per season between the 2014 and 2017 campaigns.

Leverett was a four-year starter at North Carolina Central University and Rice. He joined the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent back in April, and he landed on their practice squad in September.

Bucs Sign Josh Rosen To Practice Squad

September 6th, 2020 at 5:07pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Josh Rosen has found a new home. The highly drafted quarterback will be signing with the Buccaneers’ practice squad, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link).

Rosen will now get to learn from Tom Brady in the quarterbacks room. The UCLA product has had a tough time in the pros, and was just recently cut by the Dolphins after Miami failed to find a trade partner. Heavily hyped coming out of college, Rosen was drafted 10th overall by the Cardinals in 2018. His rookie season was a disaster, as Arizona went 3-13 and head coach Steve Wilks was fired after just one year.

The Cards elected to start fresh the following offseason, drafting Kyler Murray with the first pick and making Rosen expendable. He was quickly dealt to the Dolphins in exchange for a second-round pick. He started three games in Miami but didn’t play well and failed to beat out Ryan Fitzpatrick for playing time.

Obviously Rosen’s circumstances have been far from ideal, and he’s had to deal with things that are extremely rare for such a highly drafted quarterback. Now he’ll be not just learning from Brady, but reuniting with Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich as well. Leftwich was quarterbacks coach and interim offensive coordinator during Rosen’s season in Arizona, when he started 13 games.

This seems like an ideal situation for Rosen to land, and a chance to jumpstart his career. For the Bucs it’s a nice low-risk signing, as they don’t currently have anyone waiting in the wings for whenever the 43-year-old Brady decides to hang up his cleats. Through 16 career NFL starts Rosen has averaged 5.7 yards per attempt with 12 touchdowns and 19 interceptions.

Here is the Buccaneers full practice squad:

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/4/20

September 4th, 2020 at 4:47pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

  • Waived: DT Hinwa Allieu, FB Mikey Daniel, T Evin Ksiezarczyk, RB Craig Reynolds

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Released: DE Caraun Reid
  • Waived: RB Nathan Cottrell, TE Matthew Flanagan, OL Blake Hance, OL K.C. McDermott, OL Garrett McGhin, LS Matthew Orzech, OL Ryan Pope, OL Austen Pleasants, WR Marvelle Ross

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Buccaneers Sign 13 UDFAs

May 4th, 2020 at 5:39pm CST by Ben Levine

After adding seven rookies via the 2020 NFL Draft, the Buccaneers announced the signing of nine undrafted free agents today:

Sinnett is naturally one of the most notable name on the list, as the quarterback guided the University of San Diego to the FCS playoffs after tossing 3,528 yards and 32 touchdowns. While he’s unlikely to crack a roster that includes Tom Brady, Blaine Gabbert, and Ryan Griffin, it sounds like the Bucs want to hang on to a developmental QB on their practice squad.

Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle previously reported (via Twitter) that Sinnett will earn $152K in guaranteed money.

Jonsen proved to be a Swiss Army Knife during his time at Montana State, as he finished the 2019 campaign with 580 receiving yards and 527 rushing yards. He also completed six of his seven pass attempts for 64 yards and one score.

UPDATE

The Bucs announced the signing of four additional UDFAs:

  • John Hurst, WR (West Georgia)
  • Nick Leverett, G (Rice)
  • Parnell Motley, CB (Oklahoma)
  • Josh Pearson, WR (Jacksonville State)