The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are signing a wide receiver ahead of their preseason finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Friday.
“Bucs add receiver depth after all — they’ve signed former Western Kentucky receiver Matthew Henry, who spent time with the Titans and 49ers this year,” Fox Sports NFL reporter Greg Auman wrote on his official X account on Tuesday. “They’ve placed DT Deshawn McKnight on injured reserve.”
Henry, 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, started his career at NCAA Division II Livingstone College before stops at Western Illinois and Western Kentucky, where he earned All-Conference USA honors in 2025 with 55 receptions for 888 yards and 6 touchdowns,
“Henry (6-1, 180) started all 13 games for the Hilltoppers in 2025, hauling in 55 passes for 888 yards and six touchdowns,” Buccaneers.com’s Scott Smith wrote on Tuesday. “He was named to the All-Conference USA second team as a result of those efforts. Overall, in 40 collegiate games, Henry tallied 185 receptions for 2,939 and 20 touchdowns. After going undrafted in April, he participated in rookie minicamps with the Tennessee Titans and San Francisco 49ers, but this is his first appearance on an NFL roster.”
Bucs Rebooting at Wide Receiver in 2026
The Buccaneers won’t look like anything anyone who has watched the team in recent years remembers at wide receiver — mostly thanks to the exit of longtime franchise stalwart Mike Evans to the San Francisco 49ers in free agency.
Tampa Bay needs their 2025 1st-round pick, Emeka Egbuka, to take over as the clear-cut WR1 and get a bounce-back season from highly-paid veteran wide receiver Chris Godwin and some kind of contribution from a “Who’s That Guy?” group of players behind them, including former starter Jalen McMillan.
Most Promising Option: Rookie WR Ted Hurst
The Buccaneers may have found a player who can make an impact from the jump with rookie wide receiver Ted Hurst.
Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport has already labeled Hurst, 6-foot-4 and 206 pounds, as 1 of the NFL’s “Biggest Draft Steals” in 2026 — the Buccaneers used a 3rd-round pick on the former Georgia State star.
“It’s the dawn of a new age in Tampa Bay — after 11 seasons, wide receiver Mike Evans is gone,” Davenport wrote. “The team still has veteran Chris Godwin and second-year pro Emeka Egbuka, but the team needs a big-bodied wideout to step into Evans’ ‘X’ receiver role outside … Granted, there’s a long way to go before Hurst is an NFL starter (the jump from FCS to the NFL is a big one) and there’s an even bigger way to go before Hurst can be mentioned in the same breath as a player like Evans. But Hurst possesses a tantalizing blend of size, 4.42-second speed and catch radius. He could have a real role in Tampa’s offense as a rookie — especially with a solid summer.”
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sign All-CUSA Wide Receiver