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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a surprise roster move as the team came back from their bye. The Bucs are releasing wide receiver Jaydon Mickens who also served as their main kick returner, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
“The Bucs are waiving WR and returner Jaydon Mickens, source said, and he goes on waivers today at 4 pm. Mickens has been productive, with 7 catches and 21 returns between kickoffs and punts. A surprise,” Rapoport noted on Twitter.
According to The Athletic’s Greg Auman, Kenjon Barner will serve as the team’s primary returner moving forward. Mickens had seven receptions for 58 yards this season but was mostly buried on the receiver depth chart.
Where Mickens made a name for himself was on special teams as he notched 12 kick returns for 289 yards averaging 24.1 yards per return along with 15 punt returns for 99 yards. Mickens recently missed games as a result of being placed on the COVID-19 list, but the Buccaneers have not revealed a reason for his release.
“Bucs are promoting veteran returner Kenjon Barner to their 53-man roster to replace Jaydon Mickens as their primary returner,” Auman tweeted. “He’s been elevated for three games already this season.”
The Bucs Have Discussed Using Antonio Brown in the Return Game
The Buccaneers could also utilize Antonio Brown more on special teams, but so far the receiver only has one punt return for two yards against the Chiefs. Brown is unlikely to ever be the Bucs’ primary return player, but we could see his usage increase as the season goes on. Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians referred to Brown as a “great punt returner” after the team signed the receiver in October.
“He’s a great punt returner and kick returner,” Arians said, per Pro Football Talk. “It’s just going to be one of those things where we can get him out there with a live ball and not a jugs machine – get him back to catching them. He’ll give us good depth in that area.”
The Buccaneers Planned to ‘Self-Scout’ During Their Bye Week
It is the first major move the Bucs made after their bye, and it will be worth watching to see if the team makes any additional changes. Arians indicated the team planned to use the bye to “self-scout.”
“The self-scouting and stuff that we do is [on] ourselves,” Arians said, via USA Today. “We’ve got every play listed that we’ve run all season – the yards, the average, the completions – everything statistically for the entire season [and] for the last four ballgames, which is usually what another team breaks down. …Again, it’s more about us – our tendencies, our pluses, our minuses, where we’ve been successful and where we haven’t been.”
One of the big questions is if the Buccaneers will revamp their offense to better fit Tom Brady. Arians discussed the idea of pre-snap motion, something the Bucs coach admitted he is not a big fan of doing.
“We’ve done it in the past — we did it for years,” Arians explained, via Tampa Bay Times. “Peyton Manning never wanted anybody in motion, so each quarterback is so different (with) what they want the motion for.”
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