Buccaneers Audition Two
- The Buccaneers tried out cornerback Tre Jones and linebacker Raphael Kirby, per Caplan (Twitter link).
Buccaneers Re-Sign John Hughes
- John Hughes won’t be staying home alone any longer, as the Buccaneers announced that they’ve re-signed the veteran defensive tackle. Hughes, 28, has already played in three games for Tampa this season.
Buccaneers To Waive Major Wright
The Buccaneers reached a reunion agreement with Major Wright late last month as an insurance measure. The temporary arrangement appears to have concluded.
Tampa Bay plans to waive the safety, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, pointing to Chris Conte being available Sunday against the Cowboys.
Wright, who started in nine games for the Bucs from 2014-15, played in Tampa Bay’s two most recent contests bud did not record any statistics. Conte has been out since Week 12 with a chest injury but has started in 24 games since signing with the Bucs in 2015. Conte has two interceptions and 73 tackles this season, his sixth in the league. Cut by the Bucs out of training camp, Wright did not see any other 2016 action before re-signing with the team in November.
The Bucs started Keith Tandy in place of Conte, with Wright active as a backup. Tandy intercepted a pass, one of three Bucs to do so, and made eight tackles in relief of Conte.
Tampa Bay held NFL passing leader Drew Brees without a touchdown pass in a 16-11 win and remains in a first-place tie with the Falcons in the NFC South.
Buccaneers Activate Charles Sims
Charles Sims will be making his return this weekend. Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times reports (via Twitter) that the Buccaneers have activated the pass-catching running back from the injured reserve. The team has also promoted wideout Donteea Dye, and they’ve waived offensive lineman Josh Allen and defensive tackle John Hughes to make the necessary roster room.
The Buccaneers’ running backs have struggled through injuries this season, as the team has relied on four different starters at the position. Despite the woes, Tampa Bay has still managed to run for a respectable 1,259 yards. The team should be optimistic heading into the final stretch of the season, as Sims, Doug Martin, Jacquizz Rodgers, and Peyton Barber are all finally (relatively) healthy. Of course, running back Antone Smith is currently on the injured reserve.
Sims was placed on the injured reserve in early October with a knee injury, and he returned to practice in late November. In four games this season, the 26-year-old had run for 116 yards and one touchdown on 41 carries, and he added another 14 receptions for 112 yards and a score. 2015 was a breakout campaign for Sims, as the former third-rounder finished the season with 529 rushing yards and 561 receiving yards.
With wideout Adam Humphries sitting out this weekend’s game with a concussion, the Buccaneers also promoted wideout Donteea Dye from the practice squad. As an undrafted rookie in 2015, Dye ended up playing in 10 games (five starts) for the Bucs, collecting 11 receptions for 132 yards and one touchdown.
Hughes was playing for his third team this season, as the veteran defensive end has also spent time with the Browns and Patriots. The lineman ultimately played in five games for the Buccaneers, compiling six tackles. Hughes has 58 career games under his belt, and he’s collected 115 career tackles and 5.5 career sacks.
Allen was promoted from the practice squad to the active roster in late November. The center played in three games for the Buccaneers back in 2014. Auman believes that the release of Allen is an indication that Evan Dietrich-Smith could return from his three-game absence.
Buccaneers Audition AFL Star
- The Buccaneers are working out 6’4″, 220-pound wide receiver Joe Hills, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. He was the 2016 Arena League offensive Player of the Year for the Jacksonville Sharks.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/6/2016
Today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: P Matt Wile
- Cut: LB Reshard Cliett
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: RB Stephen Houston
Clevleand Browns
- Signed: S Justin Currie
New Orleans Saints
- Cut: LB Lamar Louis
New York Giants
- Signed: DE Jordan Williams
New York Jets
- Signed: WR Darius Jennings
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DT Shaniel Jenkins
- Cut: WR Kevin Smith
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: WR Bernard Reedy
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: LB J.R. Tavai
Bucs Promote WR Josh Huff
The Buccaneers announced that wide receiver Josh Huff is being promoted from the practice squad to the active roster. Huff hasn’t been in an NFL game since October when he was with the Eagles. 
[RELATED: Bucs Place Cecil Shorts On IR]
Huff, a third-round pick in the 2014 draft, was cut from the Eagles following an arrest for gun and marijuana possession. Soon after, the Buccaneers scooped him up and signed him to the practice squad. At first, this had the look of a low-risk, high-reward type of acquisition. As it turned out, the Buccaneers actually made a significant investment in the speedy receiver. Huff was earning $31K/week on the taxi squad and that’s good coin, particularly when considering that he was making $36/K week in Philly.
Huff’s first test with his new team will come against the Saints. When he faced New Orleans last year as a member of the Eagles, he had four catches for a career-high 78 yards and a touchdown, as Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.
The Bucs were in need of a wide receiver after placing Cecil Shorts on IR.
NFL Spending By Team Over Last Four Seasons
The NFLPA has released the official data on team spending over the last four seasons. The Collective Bargaining Agreement stipulates that each team must utilize 89% of the salary cap over two four-year periods, 2013-16 and 2017-20. As previously reported, the Raiders are the only team that has yet to satisfy that requirement for the closing period. The CBA also requires the league, as a whole, to spend 95% of the cap, in cash, for the same period. That requirement has been easily met.
Here is the full rundown of every team’s spending in declining order:
Philadelphia Eagles – $613,928,134
Denver Broncos – $587,712,791
Seattle Seahawks – $584,305,975
Green Bay Packers – $583,138,740
Miami Dolphins – $577,975,260
Kansas City Chiefs – $575,541,332
Buffalo Bills – $573,647,850
Chicago Bears – $568,301,610
Cincinnati Bengals – $567,289,411
Baltimore Ravens – $562,425,698
San Diego Chargers – $562,232,116
Indianapolis Colts – $556,335,689
Atlanta Falcons – $550,614,572
New York Giants – $543,787,033
Arizona Cardinals – $543,327,538
Los Angeles Rams – $541,957,711
New Orleans Saints – $539,836,498
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – $539,736,102
Minnesota Vikings – $539,162,454
New York Jets – $533,151,519
Washington Redskins – $532,545,662
Pittsburgh Steelers – $530,698,171
Detroit Lions – $530,210,549
Tennessee Titans – $524,505,256
Dallas Cowboys – $523,033,036
Houston Texans – $517,212,166
Jacksonville Jaguars – $516,908,734
Cleveland Browns – $516,158,864
San Francisco 49ers – $514,488,198
New England Patriots – $500,083,836
Carolina Panthers – $495,149,346
Oakland Raiders – $491,433,408
Bucs’ Cecil Shorts Done For Season
Ouch. Buccaneers wide receiver Cecil Shorts says that he has suffered a torn ACL, MCL, and PCL along with a dislocated knee (Twitter link via Britt McHenry of ESPN.com). Despite the grueling rehab that surely awaits him, Shorts says that he intends to return to football once he is healthy. He will be placed on IR. 
Of course, that could be easier said than done. Shorts, 29 later this month, has already been held back by injuries over the course of his NFL career. Since entering the league as a fourth-round pick of the Jaguars in 2011, Shorts has missed 19 regular season games. He has battled back from hamstring issues, but this latest injury could prove to be insurmountable.
Shorts accepted a pay cut from the Texans in June, a move which many expected would save his job. However, he was dropped in early September as Houston trimmed down to a 53-man roster. His history with coach Dirk Koetter led him to Tampa Bay over several other teams who had interest. Shorts joined Houston on a two-year, $6MM deal before the 2015 season, but his Bucs deal was for one year and just $1.05MM.
The Shorts/Koetter reunion didn’t exactly set the world on fire. Shorts’ season ends with eleven catches for 152 yards.
Bucs Worried Cecil Shorts Tore Multiple Knee Ligaments
The Buccaneers have already suffered significant injuries to their skill-position corps this season yet are now tied for the NFC South lead. However, there appears to be another casualty from the resurgent team’s rotation, with Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reporting (via Twitter) the team fears Cecil Shorts tore all of the ligaments in his right knee against the Chargers.
Stroud reports the veteran wide receiver who is playing on a one-year contract may also have dislocated the knee, to make matters worse.
Shorts has played in eight games as a Buccaneer since signing with the team in September. The former Jaguars and Texans target caught one pass for 14 yards today, and a collision with Chargers safety Jahleel Addae may end his season. On the season, Shorts now has 11 receptions for 152 yards, which would be by far his lowest totals since his rookie season. He missed several games earlier this season due to a hamstring malady.
The Bucs are already without Vincent Jackson and Charles Sims, with the latter expected to be activated soon. They’ve gotten by with Mike Evans and a committee, but a Shorts injury deprives Tampa Bay’s receiving corps of more depth. Beyond Shorts, Adam Humphries, Freddie Martino and Russell Shepard represent the Bucs’ depth at wideout.
The Texans signed Shorts to a two-year, $6MM deal in 2015 but asked him to take a pay cut this offseason. Equipped with multiple drafted rookies at the position, Houston then cut him to route the sixth-year veteran to Tampa.