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Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC South

August 31st, 2022 at 4:16pm CST by Sam Robinson

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints moves are noted below.

Here are Wednesday’s NFC South transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.

Atlanta Falcons

Claimed:

Released:

Signed to practice squad:

Carolina Panthers

Signed to practice squad:

New Orleans Saints

Claimed:

  • T Tanner Owen (from Bills)

Released:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Signed to practice squad:

Buccaneers To Re-Sign S Logan Ryan

August 31st, 2022 at 11:57am CST by Sam Robinson

AUGUST 31: As expected, Ryan is coming back to the Bucs. Todd Bowles confirmed Wednesday the veteran safety, despite being cut Tuesday, will re-sign with the team.

AUGUST 30: For the time being, Logan Ryan is off the Buccaneers’ roster. It remains to be seen if the veteran defensive back will return.

As they move down to the 53-man max Tuesday, the Bucs released Ryan, per Pewter Report. As a vested veteran, Ryan can move through waivers and could opt to return to the Bucs — after they have made necessary roster moves.

One of those moves will be shifting Ryan Jensen to injured reserve. While Jensen suffered a severe injury, the veteran center is not viewed as out for the season just yet. A potential return in the playoffs has not been ruled out. But Jensen will be off Tampa Bay’s roster soon. That could open the door to Ryan coming back, though other teams are now free to negotiate with the former Patriots, Titans and Giants defender.

The Bucs did not give Ryan any fully guaranteed money to add Ryan, whom the Giants cut in March, this offseason. But the veteran drew steady praise from Tampa Bay’s coaches during training camp, The Athletic’s Greg Auman tweets.

Considering this could be Tom Brady‘s final year with the Bucs (and/or final year in the NFL), keeping a proven veteran like Ryan, 31, would make sense. The Bucs lost Jordan Whitehead in free agency, leading to the Ryan move. They also signed Keanu Neal this offseason. Ryan can be re-signed as soon as Wednesday, if that is the route the Bucs are going.

Buccaneers Set 53-Man Roster

August 30th, 2022 at 7:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here is how the Buccaneers moved their roster down to the 53-man max Tuesday:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

  • OLB Elijah Ponder

Placed on IR:

Ryan is expected to return soon, Greg Auman of The Athletic tweets. His release — from a contract containing no fully guaranteed money — is likely connected to Ryan Jensen‘s impending IR trip.

The Bucs should also be expected to retain Griffin on their 16-man practice squad, which can include up to six vested vets. Griffin has gone through a lengthy career without much actual usage. A 2013 Saints UDFA, Griffin has been with the Bucs since September 2015. Odds are, after he re-signed to stay in Tampa again this offseason, the veteran QB is part of the initial 2022 Bucs P-squad. Griffin, 32, has played in two career games. He would be the Bucs’ fourth passer — behind Tom Brady, Blaine Gabbert and Kyle Trask — if kept. So, the same arrangement as 2021.

The Bucs signed Avery last week. Avery spent the offseason with the Steelers but did not make their cut to 80; the Steelers have since traded for Broncos backup OLB Malik Reed. Borregales’ exit will give Ryan Succop the kicker job for a third straight year. After the Bucs went through several years of kicker instability, Succop has done well to inject reliability into the equation. Succop’s extension runs through 2023.

Buccaneers Trade LB Grant Stuard To Colts

August 30th, 2022 at 12:33pm CST by Adam La Rose

Roster cuts are ongoing throughout the league, but trades are of course another means by which teams can arrive at their 53-man squads. The Buccaneers announced on Tuesday that they have traded linebacker Grant Stuard along with a 2023 seventh-round pick to the Colts for a 2023 sixth-rounder.

Stuard was a seventh-round pick of the Bucs in 2021. Over the course of college career in Houston, he made the transition from safety to linebacker, playing the latter position full-time in his senior year. His 61 tackles and five TFLs were a step down from his previous season’s production, but did enough to allow him to hear his name called last April.

As a rookie, Stuard played in all 17 games, primarily on special teams. He faced a long path to unseat established starters Devin White and Lavonte David, of course. With him out of the picture, Tampa will rely on the likes of K.J. Britt and J.J. Russell as backups in the middle of their defense.

With the Colts, Stuard will likewise encounter a star at the top of the LB depth chart. Shaquille Leonard will remain an every-down player upon his return (which may not be Week 1 of the regular season), so Stuard will again compete for a rotational/special teams role in his new NFL home.

Buccaneers To Waive WR Tyler Johnson

August 30th, 2022 at 11:03am CST by Adam La Rose

Widely thought to be facing a roster crunch at the receiver position, the Buccaneers have moved on from a notable name buried down the depth chart. Tampa Bay is waiving Tyler Johnson, reports Greg Auman of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The 2020 fifth-rounder had a modest rookie season, recording 169 yards on 12 receptions. He took a step forward in terms of production last year, notching 36 catches for 360 yards. Still, he faced a long list of names ahead of him in the pecking order amongst Tampa’s other pass-catchers.

Already touting one of the league’s best WR tandems with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, the Buccaneers made a pair of significant additions in free agency this offseason. The arrivals of Russell Gage and, more recently, Julio Jones, left the team with a well-defined group at the top of the depth chart. That left Johnson among several noteworthy wideouts in danger of finding themselves on the roster bubble.

It was reported earlier this month that the undrafted trio of Jerreth Sterns, Deven Thompkins and Kaylon Geiger would the make position’s logjam even harder to clear. Those three, especially given their ability to contribute on special teams, left the statuses of incumbents like Johnson and Cyril Grayson in doubt. The latter had already been waived, and 2019 sixth-rounder Scotty Miller could join them.

Tampa Bay has plenty of firepower in the passing game still, and will see just under $2MM in cap savings with this move. Johnson, meanwhile, will be a name to watch on the waiver wire given his age and draft status.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/29/22

August 29th, 2022 at 4:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

Teams have until 3pm Tuesday to slash their rosters from 80 to 53 players. Here are the Monday moves teams are making en route to doing so. The list will be updated throughout the day.

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Buccaneers Considering O-Line Trades

August 28th, 2022 at 9:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

Between Tom Brady‘s second and third Buccaneers seasons, Tampa Bay’s interior offensive line has gone from one of the league’s most stable areas to an undependable spot. Injuries to Ryan Jensen and Aaron Stinnie followed the exits of Ali Marpet and Alex Cappa. The Bucs endured more issues Saturday night, when both Robert Hainsey and Nick Leverett went down during the team’s preseason finale.

Hainsey, who is in line to replace Jensen at center, suffered an ankle injury. The Bucs do look to have caught a break with the second-year blocker, whom Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets could return by Week 1 after X-rays revealed a short-term injury. Leverett suffered a shoulder malady, and Wilson adds that is also not considered to be a serious issue (Twitter link). But the run of injuries this position group has suffered cannot exactly be ignored.

[RELATED: Jensen Injury Not Season-Ending?]

This latest round of setbacks reminds of how much has changed for the Bucs’ offensive line, which does have trade acquisition Shaq Mason healthy as the regular season nears. Todd Bowles confirmed the team will look at acquisitions along the O-line.

“There is not a sense of urgency unless we lose the two that went down yesterday,” Bowles said, via JoeBucsFan.com. “You have to have someone willing to give you a good football player [in a trade]. Nobody is going to give you a good football player. Nobody is going to feel sorry for you.

“We are going to look at the waiver wire. We are going to look at certain trades to see if we can find some things out there. But if there is nothing out there, we still have some guys that can play.”

The Bucs join the Bears and 49ers as known teams to be looking into O-line trades, though this is likely not the only trio making inquiries into availability at these premium positions. Tampa Bay used a third-round pick on Hainsey in 2021 and a second-rounder on guard Luke Goedeke. The latter is expected, due to Jensen and Stinnie’s severe injuries, to be a starter. More clarity on Hainsey’s status will help clear up the Bucs’ O-line picture for Week 1. The team has lost linemen during practice and preseason games this summer. Depth, at least, may be needed this week.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/26/22

August 26th, 2022 at 7:00pm CST by Adam La Rose

Today’s minor moves around the league:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Jacksonville Jaguars

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/25/22

August 25th, 2022 at 4:53pm CST by Adam La Rose

Today’s minor moves around the NFL:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

  • Released from IR via injury settlement: CB Duke Dawson

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Waived (injured): WR Cyril Grayson
  • Released from IR via injury settlement: T Jonathan Hubbard

Washington Commanders

Tom Brady To Start Buccaneers’ Preseason Finale

August 25th, 2022 at 2:52pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Buccaneers are planning on dressing any healthy starters on Saturday in the team’s third preseason contest on Saturday night. That includes Tom Brady, as noted by Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). 

Brady just returned from an 11-day training camp absence which, while planned, was the cause of much speculation. He resumed practicing this week, in line with the timeframe laid out by head coach Todd Bowles; at the time, though, it was unclear if the future Hall of Famer would see any preseason action this year.

“We got together as a staff and as a team and we understand we want to see certain things, so we’re putting everybody out there,” Bowles said, via Greg Auman of The Athletic (subscription required). This will mark Brady’s first game action since the Buccaneers’ playoff loss to the Rams; as Auman notes, however, he has played in Week 3 of each preseason dating back to 2009.

The 45-year-old made waves when he retired in February, doing so again 40 days later when he reversed his decision. He will play at least one more year in Tampa, but already has his next career move (a transition to the broadcast booth with FOX) lined up.

Brady has also been involved in one of the top controversies in the league this offseason; he was (in part) the subject of the Dolphins tampering scandal which resulted in significant penalties for the team and their owner, Stephen Ross. Neither Brady nor Sean Payton – the other targeted acquisition of Miami’s illicit conversations – have been disciplined as a result of the investigation.

Stroud also reports (via Twitter) that Luke Goedeke will start at left guard. The rookie has been in the running to replace Aaron Stinnie, who suffered a season-ending knee injury. The news that he will work with the first-team offense is certainly a sign that he could win out the spot, but there will still be serious question marks about the Buccaneers’ protection in the absence of Stinnie, Ryan Jensen and Ali Marpet.

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