The Tampa Bay Buccaneers open training camp on July 28 at the Advent Health Training Center in Tampa, Florida. They missed the playoffs after going 7-9 last season, but they return all 11 starters on defense (and 86.9% of defensive snaps, second in the NFL) and eight on offense. One of the new starters on offense is quarterback Tom Brady, who has two returning 1,000-yard receivers at his new digs. He also has been joined by a certain tight end with whom he is familiar. Here's a 53-man projection.
QUARTERBACK (3): Tom Brady, Blaine Gabbert, Ryan Griffin
Brady will start, with Gabbert continuing to serve as a backup after missing all of last season with a dislocated shoulder. Look for the Bucs to keep a third quarterback, with the possibility this player will be quarantined throughout the season due to the pandemic.
RUNNING BACK (4): Ronald Jones II, Ke'Shawn Vaughn, Dare Ogunbowale, T.J. Logan
Jones will serve as the first- and second-down back, while Ogunbowale will handle third down and Vaughn will serve as a backup. Logan wins the kick-return job, although Ogunbowale is capable too. Rookie Raymond Calais, a seventh-round pick who has 4.42 speed, also can return kicks and could be one to develop on the practice squad.
WIDE RECEIVER (6): Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Tyler Johnson, Justin Watson, Scotty Miller, Bryant Mitchell
Evans will start on the outside. Godwin will serve as the No. 2 receiver, but will line up in the slot. Johnson played 82% of his snaps in the slot at Minnesota. Watson and Miller also took snaps in the slot last year, although Watson is more of a physical, Evans type. Mitchell came on strong during camp last year prior to sustaining a torn left Achilles tendon.
TIGHT END (4): Rob Gronkowski, O.J. Howard, Cameron Brate, Antony Auclair
Auclair's blocking beats out Tanner Hudson's pass-catching ability. Not having a preseason hurts Hudson more than Auclair, as that is where Hudson truly shined last year. His blocking struggles also hurt him.
OFFENSIVE LINE (9): Donovan Smith, Tristan Wirfs, Ali Marpet, Ryan Jensen, Alex Cappa, Joe Haeg, Josh Wells, Zack Bailey, John Molchon
Haeg can back up virtually any position along the offensive line. Wells can serve as a backup swing tackle, edging out Brad Seaton. Bailey, who suffered a broken foot last season, played guard, center and right tackle in college and can serve as the backup center. Molchon's true position is guard but he started at left guard, left tackle and right tackle in his senior season at Boise State due to injuries.
DEFENSIVE LINE (6): William Gholston, Vita Vea, Ndamukong Suh, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Patrick O'Connor, Khalil Davis
Jeremiah Ledbetter, who suffered an ankle injury in camp last year and missed out on making the initial 53-man roster, misses the final spot behind O'Connor, although it could go the other way because of Ledbetter's position flexibility, as he can play all across the defensive line.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER (5): Shaquil Barrett, Jason Pierre-Paul, Anthony Nelson, Kahzin Daniels, Quinton Bell
Daniels, an undrafted free agent who saw action in two games last year, and Bell get some of the final spots. Daniels has a better grasp of the position, but Bell has elite speed, clocking a 4.38 40-yard dash time at his pro day. Bell played only one year of defense at Prairie View A&M (he's a former wide receiver), so he could have really benefited from the reps lost due canceled minicamps.
INSIDE LINEBACKER (4): Lavonte David, Devin White, Kevin Minter, Jack Cichy
Minter did an exceptional job stepping in for White last season. Although Cichy struggled with a torn ACL his rookie season and an elbow injury that landed him on injured reserve last year, he's a high-energy player and a solid contributor on special teams, beating out seventh-round draft pick Chapelle Russell and Noah Dawkins.
CORNERBACK (5): Carlton Davis, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Jamel Dean, Ryan Smith, Mazzi Wilkins
Davis and Murphy-Bunting will start on the outside, with Murphy-Bunting moving to the inside during nickel situations and Dean becoming the third corner. Smith is the team's top gunner on special teams. Wilkins edges out Stewart, who has struggled to find a true position on the Bucs' defense, for the final spot.
SAFETY (4): Jordan Whitehead, Antoine Winfield Jr., Mike Edwards, Justin Evans
Evans, the Bucs' second-round draft pick in 2017 who missed all of last year with foot and ankle injuries, is a huge question mark. He also struggled with those same injuries in 2018. D'Cota Dixon, who missed all of last season with a shoulder injury, had a very promising training camp prior to the injury, and Andrew Adams, who is more of a hybrid safety-linebacker, is also certainly capable of grabbing one of the spots.
SPECIALISTS (3): Matt Gay, Bradley Pinion, Zach Triner
All of the incumbents return.