August 14th, 2026
Disappointing but predictable.
One thing that has borderline shocked Joe in training camp is all the times Joe has seen Chris Braswell in the backfield.
The outside linebacker, drafted in the second round in 2024, previously had been virtually invisible with the Bucs.
Almost every day at camp — and Joe hasn’t missed a practice — Joe would see Braswell getting a “sack” (remember, no hitting the quarterback in practice) or at least in the backfield putting pressure on quarterbacks.
At first Joe was shocked. Braswell is still on the roster? Then, Joe began wondering if the reason Braswell has shown up in the Bucs backfield so often is maybe the offensive line isn’t blocking that well.
(Braswell isn’t normally going up against the first-team offense.)
So Joe was hoping Braswell was finally starting to get the hang of things in the NFL. As a result, Joe was sort of looking forward to seeing Braswell tonight against the Jets to see if he could carry over his strong training camp into a fake game.
Welp. We saw tonight that Braswell is still not ready for prime time. Not even against dudes who will be working the Publix deli counter next month.
Bad enough Braswell wasn’t getting after the quarterback. Worse, he fully whiffed on a tackle of Jets running back Braelon Allen as he scored on a 31-yard run to the right side in the first half.
Had Braswell made the play, it would have been maybe a two-or three-yard gain.
This subpar play by Braswell caught the eye of Bucs great and WFLA-TV Channel 8 game analyst Ronde Barber.
“Yeah, the one guy that I’m looking at right now on defense is No. 43,” Barber said of Braswell. “He’s been here for three years now.
“[The Bucs have] got a lot of depth in that outside linebacker room. He’s playing in the second half.
“If there’s a battle at that position, it’s going to be him for a roster spot. So keep an eye on him. He’s definitely going to need to make some impact play.”
And sadly, Joe is still waiting for one impact play now into Braswell’s third preseason with the Bucs. Just one!
If the general manager openly crows on national television about a guy who had yet to play a snap in any game, David Walker, and then the team goes out and drafts an outside linebacker No. 15 overall and drops a load of cash on a veteran free agent with 11 sacks, if that isn’t enough to jump-start Braswell, then the Bucs have the wrong guy.