One of the more surprising names that stuck on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster in 2025 was undrafted free agent linebacker John Bullock, who wound up playing in 15 games and on almost 70 percent of Tampa Bay’s special teams snaps.
Bullock bounced back to the Buccaneers on Friday after he was waived by the Indianapolis Colts and claimed by Tampa Bay.
“The Bucs are bringing LB John Bullock back, claiming him off waivers after Indianapolis waived him this week, per source,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote on his official X account. “Bullock was with Tampa Bay last season but was waived in January, now back.”
Bullock, 6-foot and 230 pounds, had 10 tackles on 253 special teams snaps but only played 5 snaps on defense.
“Not surprising — Bucs are bringing back John Bullock, who made their 53 as an undrafted rookie last year,” Fox Sports NFL reporter Greg Auman wrote on X. “Back to compete for a backup job this fall.”
Unfortunately for Bullock, Buccaneers fans know him most for a critical mistake he made in 1 of the most important games of the year — an unnecessary roughness penalty for head-butting against the Carolina Panthers in a 23-20 Week 16 loss.
Bullock’s penalty came late in the game, on a kickoff, and forced the Buccaneers to start an offensive series at the 10-yard line.
“A young player that made a mistake,” Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said after the loss to the Panthers. “You’ve got to be a smarter football player than that. He has been. He’ll learn from it. It’s a bad play to do it at that time.”
LB John Bullock Drew Raves in Preseason
Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds put Bullock at the top of his list of UDFAs who could make the 53-man roster following mandatory minicamp in 2025, and he was proven right.
“So far, inside linebacker John Bullock, J.J. Roberts, who is being cross-trained at safety and nickelback, offensive tackle Ben Chukwuma, center Jake Majors and running back Josh Williams are the most buzz-worthy undrafted free agents from this year’s draft class,” Reynolds wrote in June 2025.
Bullock started as a nickel back at Nebraska for his first few seasons before becoming a starter at inside linebacker his last 2 seasons in 2023 and 2024.
In his final season, Bullock had career highs with 70 tackles, 10 TFL, 4.0 sacks, 5 pass deflections, and one interception returned for a touchdown on the way to earning All-Big Ten honors.
Buccaneers in New Era at Inside Linebacker
The Buccaneers are entering a new era at inside linebacker in 2026 after NFL All-Pro and Super Bowl champion Lavonte David retired following his 13th season in 2025.
The franchise didn’t stand on ceremony with David out the door and have made big moves at the position.
First, they signed a pair of potential starters in free agency with Alex Anzalone (3 years, $17 million) and Christian Rozeboom. The biggest move came in the NFL draft when the Buccaneers selected Mizzou inside linebacker Josiah Trotter in the 2nd round (No. 46 overall).
Trotter is the son of Eagles Hall of Fame linebacker Jeremiah Trotter and the younger brother of current Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr.
“At 6-foot-2 and 237 pounds, Trotter is a downhill, instinctive player who rarely misses tackles and is a very physical run defender,” ESPN’s Jenna Laine wrote. “Expect coach Todd Bowles to blitz him a lot. There are question marks about his coverage ability though, but Anzalone is considered one of the best coverage inside backers.”
Buccaneers Bring Back 6-foot, 230-Pound Special Teams Ace