Bucs TE Bauer Sharp earned a roster spot.
OK, the Bucs now have their initial 53-man roster. Joe expects this to change by the time the team begins practice next week for the Bengals.
There really weren’t many surprises for Joe:
\* Joe expected that bust Chris Braswell would have been cut. But there was still something in the back of Joe’s head that thought maybe, just maybe, Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht might just keep Braswell to give him one more shot. Remember, the NFL is not fantasy football. The Bucs had an investment in Braswell. Guess it shows how bad he is that the Bucs were willing to wash their hands of him after just two seasons. Remember, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka got four seasons to prove himself. Then again, the Bucs had more Team Glazer loot invested in JTS than Braswell.
\* Joe expected Devin Culp to get cut. And that’s sad. Culp might be one of those weird dudes who doesn’t show much (if anything) in practice, but put the guy in a game and he makes plays. Every time — which wasn’t often — Culp got into a game with the Bucs he made a play. In practices with the pads on, he was pretty much invisible. Joe knew the writing was on the wall when Bauer Sharp was making plays each and every practice, sometimes getting snaps with the first team. Meanwhile, Culp might make two or three plays a week in practice and he was mired on the third- and sometimes fourth-team offense.
\*Another guy Joe expected to be cut was Elijah Klein. Just because he was a smaller-school guy that Jason Licht picked on the third-day of the draft, Joe sort of had hopes for him. Joe types this often and it seems folks don’t want to believe Joe, but Klein simply never looked like an NFL offensive lineman (Joe saw him plenty of times in the locker room). Yes, Joe knows what his measurements are, but if you ever saw Klein in real life, in person without pads, you’d be hard-pressed to believe he was an NFL offensive lineman. Fullback, sure. Tight end, maybe. But offensive guard? Joe thinks eventually, that’s what did him in. He simply did not have the build of an NFL offensive lineman.
\* For a while there, Joe was wondering if Dean Patterson might just give Kam Johnson a run for the last wide receiver spot. Joe is guessing Patterson didn’t play well enough on special teams, which is Johnson’s alleged forte. Joe heard a great line from famed national radio host JT the Brick on Sunday night say while discussing cuts, that his show is “not a practice squad show but a champions show.” And this here site is not a practice squad site but a champion site — Joe not rest soundly or be happy until the Bucs win a Super Bowl. But Joe expects Patterson will be on the Bucs’ practice squad, for whatever that is worth.
\* Joe wonders if Jack Pyburn will be on the field Saturday night when LSU hosts Clemson? Joe would be so PO’ed if he got benched by scummy Lane Kiffin for Pyburn. Nothing against Pyburn but a dude busts his arse all offseason and through training camp and earns a starting spot and a guy shows up on Monday and you’re benched right before a nationally televised prime time game? Joe would be furious. Like, “Up yours Lane, I’m going to play for Bama.”
\* Anyone remember when J.J. Roberts was a thing? Joe remembers when (some) folks were hyperventilating over him last year. To be fair to Roberts, he blew out a knee in a controlled scrimmage at Pittsburgh. So he may not be 100 percent recovered quite yet.
\* Yo, Ronde, what happened with Josh Williams?
\* Joe was slightly surprised Rashad Wisdom wasn’t kept. He had a solid camp and worthless preseason. The Bucs have just one backup safety on the roster (currently). So while the Bucs are scary thin at corner, they aren’t exactly stocked with safety depth.