By 4 p.m. tomorrow, Tampa time, the Bucs will shave their roster to the mandatory 53 men. One more day! All of underwear football and training camp and worthless preseason games lead up to this.
Joe is relatively confident tomorrow’s roster won’t look the same come next week when the Bucs begin game prep for the season opener at Atlanta. So tomorrow’s roster will be jotted down with a pencil.
Evan Closky of WTSP-TV Channel 10 decided to pump out his projected 53. Joe only has a couple of comments.
\* Joe is a big fan of Devin Culp. And he was tearing up practice in the first week or so. Since, he’s all but vanished. His arrow is certainly pointing down. “This Joe” still believes Culp has the biggest upside of any of the Bucs’ tight ends, but when your production and targets steadily drop as training camp continues, that’s not a great sign. So Joe thinks Culp may be bubbly right now.
\* The way Todd Bowles is hyping up rookie running back Josh Williams, he seriously is being considered for a roster spot. Does that mean Sean Tucker is now vulnerable? Or will the Bucs keep four running backs? They didn’t last year. Joe’s not sure.
\* Teddy Bridgewater to the practice squad? Just yesterday Pete Carroll of the Raiders said Las Vegas is searching high and low for an experienced quarterback. If the Bucs don’t protect Bridgewater, he could be gone to join Tom Brady and John Spytek in the desert.
\* Rashad Wisdom had a solid game on Saturday night and he can play multiple defensive back positions. Kaevon Merriweather, who had a bad night Saturday, is mostly a safety. Is Merriweather in trouble?
\* Is Josh Hayes that good of a special teams player? He stinks as a corner. Joe thinks he’s very much on thin ice.
> My 53-man Buccaneers Roster Prediction:
>
> QB\*:
> Mayfield, Trask
>
> RB:
> Irving, White, Tucker
>
> WR:
> Evans, Godwin, Egbuka, Tez, Shepard, Miller
>
> TE:
> Otton, Durham, Culp, Kieft
>
> OL:
> Wirfs, Goedeke, Barton, Mauch, Bredeson, Heck, Klein, Chukwuma, Haggard
>
> DL:
> Vea, Kancey, Hall, Gaines,…
>
> — Evan Closky (@ECloskyWTSP) [August 24, 2025](https://twitter.com/ECloskyWTSP/status/1959435117824266410?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)