Buccaneers Audition Nate Washington
After losing wide receiver Vincent Jackson to a torn ACL last week, the Buccaneers are working out another veteran pass-catcher. According to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link), Tampa Bay took a look at WR Nate Washington today.
[RELATED: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Depth Chart]
The 33-year-old Washington has been a member of three teams since going undrafted from Division III Tiffin University in 2005. He spent a productive 2015 as a member of the Texans, with whom he hauled in 47 passes for 658 yards and four touchdowns. Washington, who has also played three years in Pittsburgh and six seasons in Tennessee, has 458 receptions and 44 touchdowns to his name. In his most prolific campaign, 2011, the 6-foot-1, 185-pounder recorded career highs in catches (74), targets (121), yards (1,023) and scores (seven) with the Titans.
The Bucs can still rely on No. 1 wide receiver Mike Evans, who is second in the league with 75 targets, but are quite thin behind their top option. Cecil Shorts, coming off a hamstring injury, is joined by Adam Humphries, Freddie Martino, and Russell Shepard — who caught five passes for 77 yards and a score on Sunday — in the wide receiver corps. Tampa also re-signed WR Donteea Dye to its practice squad today.
In addition to Washington, the Buccaneers also worked out running backs Austin Johnson and Will Ratelle, reports Howard Balzer (Twitter link).
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/25/16
Today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: WR Chris Hubert
- Cut: OT Martin Wallace
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: WR Dobson Collins
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: TE Gerald Christian, WR Mose Frazier, CB Joe Powell
- Cut: WR Corey Washington
Cleveland Browns
- Cut: OL Mike Liedtke
Detroit Lions
- Signed: OT Matt Rotheram
- Cut: RB Mike James
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: CB Keith Baxter
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: S Doran Grant (Twitter link via Howard Balzer), DT Louis Nix
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DL Bobby Richardson
- Cut: LB Deion Barnes
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: DT Sterling Bailey, OT Austin Shepherd, DB Cedric Thompson
- Cut: TE Kyle Carter, TE Brian Leonhardt, QB Joel Stave
New England Patriots
- Signed: S Shamiel Gary, DT Anthony Johnson (Twitter link via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com)
New York Jets
- Signed: LB Reshard Cliett (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: OT Keavon Milton
- Cut: TE Rashaun Allen
Seattle Seahawks
- Cut: RB Zac Brooks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: WR Donteea Dye
Washington Redskins
- Signed: WR Matt Hazel
Buccaneers Place Vincent Jackson On IR
SUNDAY, 10:11am: It is still uncertain whether Jackson suffered a complete tear of his ACL, according to Alex Marvez of SiriusXM NFL Radio (via Twitter). He will have another MRI shortly, and Cecil Shorts will get the nod in Jackson’s absence.
TUESDAY, 4:14pm: In what could be a significant blow to their offense, the Buccaneers have placed wide receiver Vincent Jackson on injured reserve with a knee issue. Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times was among those to report that Jackson has a torn ACL, though ESPN’s Ed Werder suggests that it could be an MCL injury (Twitter links).
Jackson played through the injury in the Buccaneers’ Week 5 win over the Panthers and later realized it didn’t feel right, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). The 33-year-old hauled in three catches for 36 yards against Carolina, giving him 15 receptions and 173 yards on 31 targets this season.
This could be the second straight year in which a knee ailment has ended Jackson’s season early. He missed six games in 2015 and landed on IR in December with a sprained MCL. Prior to last year, Jackson had gone four straight years without missing a game. The two-time Pro Bowler has been highly productive in his 12 combined seasons with the Chargers and Bucs, but it’s possible he’ll never put on Tampa Bay’s uniform again.
Jackson will be a free agent at season’s end, and even before his injury, second-year receiver Adam Humphries had begun taking targets from him. Still, Jackson had started in each of the Buccaneers’ first five games, and his loss will give quarterback Jameis Winston one fewer viable target. Aside from Humphries and No. 1 option Mike Evans, the Bucs aren’t flush with options at wideout, though Louis Murphy is nearing a return from the torn ACL he suffered last October.
Buccaneers Exchange Wide Receivers
- In a wide receiver exchange, the Buccaneers promoted Freddie Martino to their 53-man roster and waived Donteea Dye, the team announced. Martino broke into the NFL with the 2014 Falcons, who employed current Bucs HC Dirk Koetter as their OC. He played in two games earlier this season but has yet to catch a pass in the NFL.
Buccaneers Promote WR Donteea Dye
The Buccaneers have promoted wide receiver Donteea Dye from the practice squad, as Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times writes. Dye signed a practice squad deal with the Bucs on Monday and he was quickly bumped up to the varsity squad to help replace the injured Vincent Jackson. 
Dye impressed in the offseason but he was waived-injured by Tampa Bay after suffering a hamstring injury. Last year, he broke out as an undrafted rookie and even started in five games. He’ll give Jameis Winston another target as the team deals with Jackson’s absence and awaits the return of Cecil Shorts and Louis Murphy.
In related news, the Buccaneers signed running back Russell Hansbrough to take Dye’s old spot. Hansbrough made his NFL debut in last week’s win against Carolina but was cut earlier this week.
Bucs Try Out Three TEs
- Tight ends Mitchell Henry, Casey Pierce and Eric Wallace tried out for the Buccaneers (Twitter link). Wallace played college basketball at Ohio State and DePaul, and then spent three years playing Australian Rules Football. He was previously with the Panthers, who will work him out Wednesday, according to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/18/16
Tuesday’s practice squad transactions:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: CB/KR Asa Jackson
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DB Darius Hillary, WR Jordan Leslie
- Cut: E.J. Bibbs
Denver Broncos
- Signed: LB Quentin Gause, TE Steven Scheu (Twitter link via Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post)
- Cut: WR Mose Frazier, LB Richard Cliett
Detroit Lions
- Signed: LB Brandon Chubb
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: WR Marcus Leak, CB Frankie Williams
New England Patriots
- Signed: G Jamil Douglas (Twitter link via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com)
- Cut: OL Ian Silberman
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DL Royce LaFrance (Twitter link via Nick Underhill of The Advocate)
New York Giants
- Signed: LS Tyler Ott
- Cut: DB Doran Grant
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: OL Don Cherry
- Cut: G Darrell Greene
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: WR DeAndre Smelter
- Cut: WR Dres Anderson
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DT Justin Hamilton (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times)
- Cut: DE Sterling Bailey
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: RB Russell Hansbrough (Twitter link via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times)
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/17/16
Today’s practice squad moves:
Detroit Lions
- Signed: DB Charles Washington
- Cut: WR Jay Lee
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: DT Brian Price (Twitter link via Ryan Wood of PackersNews.com)
New England Patriots
- Signed: FB Glenn Gronkowski (Twitter link via Doug Kyed of NESN.com), RB Tyler Gaffney
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: WR Donteea Dye, WR Freddie Martino, S Trae Elston, TE Tevin Westbrook
Buccaneers To Sign RB Antone Smith
The Buccaneers have agreed to sign running back Antone Smith, according to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter). Smith, an FSU product, played under coach Dirk Koetter in Atlanta. 
Smith could help fill the gap after running back Charles Sims was placed on IR earlier this month. Alternatively, this could be an indication that Doug Martin will be out for an extended period of time. Martin went down with a hamstring injury last month and it was initially reported that he would miss “about three weeks.” Now, almost four weeks later, Martin has yet to return to the field.
The injuries to the Bucs’ top two runners have thrust another former Atlanta back – Jacquizz Rodgers – into a starting role. Now, Smith will be there in support along with undrafted free agent Peyton Barber. Russell Hansbrough, who was the team’s No. 3 RB this weekend, has been waived (Twitter link via Auman).
Stroud: Bucs Still Need To Address Aguayo Situation
- Buccaneers rookie kicker Roberto Aguayo connected on a game-winning 38-yard field goal on Monday night, but Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times says that Aguayo’s boot only served to buy Tampa Bay a little extra time to address its kicker situation. Even with the winner, head coach Dirk Koetter sounded as disgusted as he did relieved by Aguayo’s performance this season, and as Stroud observes, if Aguayo continues to struggle–he is 4-of-8 on field goals with one missed extra point in nine tries–it could cause a schism between the coaching staff that is judged on wins and losses and the front office that wants its gamble on drafting Aguayo in the second round to pay off.