Training camp is right around the corner, and when it arrives the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have some tough decisions to make. Final roster cuts don’t need to happen until the end of August, but between now and then a handful of players are going to be battling for roster spots like the pool cue scene in_The Dark Knight_.
For as much talent as the Bucs have, there simply aren’t enough roster spots to go around. That’s already crystal clear at two positions, one of which will be tougher to determine than the other.
Safety is going to be a hard group to trim down, but signs are already pointing toward what might happen there. [Shilo Sanders is firmly on the roster bubble](https://thepewterplank.com/buccaneers-saying-quiet-part-out-loud-shilo-sanders-future), despite having a clear path to making the team, which is where most of the drama lies.
A similar situation exists at wide receiver, where figuring out who is on the wrong side of the roster bubble is going to be a lot harder.
**Wide Receiver is still the Buccaneers’ toughest training camp battle**
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No position better illustrates how stacked the Bucs are with talent than wide receiver. The team drafted both Emeka Egbuka and Teez Johnson back in April and worked out a deal to get Chris Godwin back in free agency.
Barring a disaster — which would be injury-related, not performance-based — at least three roster spots are already spoken for. Godwin and Egbuka are locks to make the team alongside Mike Evans, but things get a little murkier after that.
Last year the Bucs carried five receivers on the final roster, which leaves only two more spots for as many as five guys trying to secure a job. The next-closest thing to a lock is Jalen McMillan, which leaves just one spot for Johnson, Trey Palmer, Sterling Shepard, and Kam Johnson to battle for.
Teez Johnson has the best shot to make the team, thanks in large part to his value as a kick returner. That would box Kam Johnson out, although bringing him back on the practice squad feels like what might happen if he gets cut.
Shepard is the longest shot out of the group. He started the season last year on the practice squad before needing to get called up after injuries to Evans and Godwin. He didn’t exactly shine in the time he saw and it would seem odd to leave Palmer off the roster.
That being said, Palmer isn’t a lock either. He’s entering his third season with the Bucs and has yet to distance himself the way the team hoped he might when trading up for him late in the 2023 NFL Draft. There’s still time for that to happen but the competition is stiff and Teez already feels like an early clubhouse leader.
We could see the Bucs decide to carry six receivers into the season, but that would mean sacraficing at another position. It’s a tough ask given how much talent there is all over the roster, but it’s clear the where toughest place to make the team will be.
**More Tampa Bay Buccaneers news and rumors**