The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are signing at least 2 players following tryouts at their rookie minicamp — and both come with tremendous upside.
The Buccaneers signed undrafted free agents in wide receiver Dean Patterson and edge rusher Yasir Holmes after getting firsthand looks at them.
Patterson, 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, ran a 4.5-second 40-yard dash at Georgia Tech’s Pro Day and scored 10 touchdowns over the last 2 seasons at Georgia Tech and FIU.
“Another tryout player signing from Bucs rookie minicamp, pending a physical Monday: Dean Patterson, a receiver from FIU and Georgia Tech,” Fox Sports NFL reporter Greg Auman wrote on his official X account on Sunday. ” … had 8 TDs at FIU, 2 more at GT last year. Started his college career at D-II Findlay.”
Holmes, 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, had 16.0 sacks and 31.5 TFL over the last 2 seasons at Tarleton State and NCAA Division II Frostburg State.
Patterson Put Up Solid Numbers Entire Career
Patterson played 6 college football seasons but never saw the field at Findlay as a freshman in 2020 after the season was canceled because of the pandemic.
“This past season for the Yellow Jackets, Patterson totaled eight catches for 150 yards and two touchdowns, averaging nearly 19 yards per catch,” Sports Illustrated’s Jackson Caudell wrote. “In 339 snaps this past season, Patterson finished with a 54.6 overall grade on Pro Football Focus. Patterson caught 98 passes for 1,406 yards and eight touchdowns over four seasons at FIU and was named second-team all-Conference USA after catching 50 passes for 685 yards and seven touchdowns as a redshirt junior in 2024.”
Holmes Projects as Instant Special Teams Ace
Holmes has the size and speed to make the Buccaneers as a special teams ace and provide much-needed depth at edge rusher — he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.67 seconds at Tarleton State’s Pro Day.
“Fire those cannons!” Tarleton State wrote on its official X account on April 26. “Congratulations to Yasir Holmes for receiving a rookie mini camp invite from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers!”
“Work not done but it’s all God,” Holmes wrote on his own X account after receiving the invite.
Bucs Rebooting Both WR and Edge Rusher
Interestingly enough, the 2 positions that Patterson and Holmes play are ones where the Buccaneers are undergoing a complete overhaul.
At wide receiver, the Buccaneers are going to be playing their 1st season in a decade-plus without legendary wide receiver Mike Evans on the roster after he left for the San Francisco 49ers and a 3-year, $42.5 million contract in free agency.
That group is going to have to rely heavily on 2 players who limped to the finish line in 2025 with 2nd year wide receiver and 2025 1st round pick Emeka Egbuka and veteran Chris Godwin, who has missed 17 games due to injuries over the past 2 seasons.
At edge rusher, it’s been all sunshine and rainbows since Miami’s Rueben Bain dropped to the Buccaneers at No. 15 overall in the 2026 NFL draft.
It’s not a stretch to say that Bain has generated as much buzz as any defensive draft pick for the Buccaneers in a generation. Not since they took a pair of future Pro Football Hall of Famers and future NFL Defensive Players of the Year in the 1st round of the 1995 NFL draft with defensive tackle Warren Sapp and inside linebacker Derrick Brooks.
“(Bain) is a problem, not a prototype,” Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said. “He’s a game wrecker.”
Bucs Sign 6-foot-2, 200-Pound WR Following Minicamp Tryout