Buccaneers Quarterback Among Key Roster Cuts: Report

Buccaneers Roster Cuts

Getty The Buccaneers faced some difficult roster decisions.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are planning to release veteran quarterback Ryan Griffin as the team finalizes their 53-man roster, per Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud. Tampa Bay will enter the regular season with Blaine Gabbert and rookie Kyle Trask behind Tom Brady. Trask is expected to be eased into his NFL career beginning the season as the Bucs third-string quarterback.

“QB Ryan Griffin will be among the players released today by the Bucs,” Stroud noted in a series of tweets. “They will go with Tom Brady, Blaine Gabbert and Kyle Trask. Griffin is a candidate to be signed to the practice squad. The Bucs will in fact release QB Ryan Griffin today. He will be among the cuts by 4 pm. Mike Evans’ restructure to his contract to provide some cap space won’t be completed until Thursday.”


Arians Downplayed the Idea That Griffin Would Not Make the Final Roster

There had been some speculation that Griffin’s days in Tampa were numbered after the team selected Trask in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians tried to downplay this idea throughout the offseason, but the roster numbers were going to make it challenging for the team to keep Griffin.

“There are so many things that can happen between now and September 9 — nobody is out,” Arians said in June, per Pro Football Talk. “That’s for sure. Ryan, he comes out here and he’s as efficient as anybody we have. So no, I wouldn’t say that.”


WR Jayden Mickens Is Among the Notable Buccaneers’ Roster Cuts

Another position of strength for the Buccaneers is at receiver as wideout Jayden Mickens is among the notable cuts. Mickens is a name to watch as a potential practice squad candidate for the Buccaneers.

“Bucs are also waiving receiver Jaydon Mickens, who was their primary returner for much of last season,” The Athletic’s Greg Auman tweeted. “The drafting of Jaelon Darden put him in jeopardy, but there’s a good chance he comes back on the practice squad.”

The move likely means rookie receiver Jaelon Darden is firmly on the team’s final roster. The Buccaneers have been high on Darden since selecting the wideout in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Tampa Bay also waived tight end Codey McElroy, a nod to another position of strength.

“So today’s Bucs cuts — think we had all of these first so far: TE Codey McElroy, WR Travis Jonsen, WR Jaydon Mickens, CB Chris Wilcox, CB Herb Miller. Still nine moves to get to 53 by 4 p.m.,” Auman explained on Twitter.


Darden Could Return Kicks for the Bucs

Mickens was a key player on special teams last season taking snaps as a return man. Darden has a good chance to take over this role thanks, in part, to his speed with a 4.44-second 40-yard dash time.

“Return game-wise, he’s fine,” Arians noted, per Buccaneers.com. “We’ve got to block for him better, give him a chance, but he showed his speed getting around the corner and doing some of those things. Receiver-wise, he’s still learning the nuances of different coverages – do you run this route versus that, and this and that? So, the dependability isn’t quite where it can be. When he knows what he’s doing, it’s impressive. We’ve just got to do a better job of getting him to know what he’s doing.”

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