The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a pair of moves early Saturday as they begin paring down their roster ahead of the August 30 deadline for 53-man rosters.
“Bucs are waiving second-year QB Connor Bazelak, who was last year’s No. 3,” Fox Sports NFL reporter Greg Auman wrote on his official X account on Saturday morning. “Only got four snaps in last two preseason games as focus shifted to rookie Jalon Daniels.”
The writing was on the wall for Bazelak ahead of the Buccaneers’ preseason finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Friday night.
“Bucs plan to start rookie QB Jalon Daniels and play him the first half and maybe more tonight vs. Jacksonville,” Tampa Bay Times reporter Rick Stroud wrote on his official X account on Friday. “He will be followed by Jake Browning and Connor Bazelak. Daniels is making legit run at No. 2.”
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Buccaneers Also Cut Special Teams Ace
The Buccaneers also cut special teams ace and linebacker John Bullock on Saturday.
“Bucs are waiving second-year linebacker John Bullock, who made the 53 last year as an undrafted rookie,” Auman wrote on Saturday. “Good competition for backup linebacker jobs this year.”
Bullock was 1 of the more surprising names on the Bucs roster in 2025 and 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 in May. “Bullock was with Tampa Bay last season but was waived in January, now back.”
John Bullock Known for Massive Mistake in Clutch
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.”
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