The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are moving on from a key member of their 2021 Super Bowl team.
The Buccaneers announced on Tuesday, August 16, that they released veteran cornerback Ross Cockrell. Tuesday represented the NFL’s deadline for teams to trim their rosters down to 85 players. However, Tampa Bay actually cut their roster down to 84 players following Cockrell’s release.
“The Tampa Bay Buccaneers waived or released six players on Tuesday in order to get down to the NFL-mandated roster limit of 85,” reported Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com. “The most prominent name on the list is defensive back Ross Cockrell, who played in 29 games with six starts for the team over the past two seasons. As a vested veteran, Cockrell was released and immediately becomes a free agent.”
NFL reporter Dov Kleiman noted that Cockrell’s release was “unexpected.”
“Unexpected release: Bucs cut CB/Safety Ross Cockrell, per (Greg Auman). Played a ton of snaps for Tampa the past two years and is a solid all around defender,” Kleiman tweeted.
Cockrell Played Key Role on Bucs’ Defense in 2021
The 31-year-old Cockrell joined the Buccaneers in 2020 and appeared in 29 games with six starts. The veteran cornerback played in the team’s 2021 Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, appearing in 18 special teams snaps in the game.
During his two-season tenure, Cockrell was a valuable member of the special teams unit, playing in at least 46% of the snaps in each of the last two years. However, his role on defense grew last season, appearing in 42% of the snaps in comparison to just 29% during the 2020 season. Last season, Cockrell posted 43 tackles after posting just 11 tackles during the 2020 season.
According to Pro Football Focus, Cockrell earned a solid 68.4 defensive grade and a 69.6 grade in coverage. Among corners with at least 300 snaps, Cockrell actually ranked 30th in coverage grade.
Over the course of his eight seasons in the league, Cockrell has appeared in 97 games, starting 49 of them, to go along with career stats of 273 tackles and seven interceptions. Cockrell has also spent time with the Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants and Carolina Panthers.
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Buccaneers Bring Back Former Player, Sign Carl Nassib
The Buccaneers are bringing back a familiar face.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Monday, August 15, that the Buccaneers are signing defensive end Carl Nassib. Nassib previously spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons with Tampa Bay, posting 12.5 combined sacks during those two years. The 29-year-old veteran parlayed that success into a three-year, $25 million deal with the Las Vegas Raiders.
“Buccaneers reached agreement on a one-year deal with former Raiders’ DE Carl Nassib, per source,” Schefter tweeted.
Despite his success in Todd Bowles’ system during his tenure in Tampa Bay, Nassib failed to carry over that momentum in Las Vegas. Nassib sacked the quarterback just four times in 27 games with the Raiders.
Although Nassib started 17 games during his two seasons with the Buccaneers, he’ll likely fill a rotational role following Cam Gill’s injury during the preseason opener.
Nassib spent the first two years of his six-year career with the Cleveland Browns.
Buccaneers Make ‘Unexpected’ Cut, Release Key Member of 2021 Super Bowl