The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who missed the playoffs after going 7-9 last season, return all 11 starters on defense (and 86.9% of the defensive snaps, second in the NFL). One of three new starters on offense is quarterback Tom Brady, who has two 1,000-yard receivers to throw to. Brady also has been joined by a certain tight end with whom he is familiar.
The Bucs will cut their roster to 53 players by Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. Here is a 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 shoulder injury. Griffin will serve as the third quarterback, whom coach Bruce Arians is still considering quarantining due to the coronavirus epidemic.
RUNNING BACK (4): Ronald Jones, LeSean McCoy, Dare Ogunbowale, Ke'Shawn Vaughn
The Bucs will go heavy on running backs in a true effort to get back to a more balanced attack. Jones will serve as the first- and second-down back, with McCoy as the change-of-pace back. Ogunbowale will handle third down. Raymond Calais, who has 4.42 speed, can be developed on the practice squad.
WIDE RECEIVERS (5): Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Tyler Johnson, Justin Watson, Scotty Miller
Evans will start on the outside. Godwin will serve as the No. 2 receiver, but will line up in the slot. Watson can back up Evans' outside role; on the inside, he serves as a backup to Godwin. Miller gives them downfield speed on the outside. This projection also assumes Johnson, who missed most of camp due to a soft tissue injury and was considered a steal as a fifth-round pick, misses the start of the season, with Jaydon Mickens serving as the punt and kickoff returner.
TIGHT END (4): Rob Gronkowski, O.J. Howard, Cameron Brate, Antony Auclair
Tanner Hudson made some nice practice catches and his blocking has improved, but Auclair's blocking and special-teams ability win out.
OFFENSIVE LINE (9): Donovan Smith, Tristan Wirfs, Ali Marpet, Ryan Jensen, Alex Cappa, A.Q. Shipley, Joe Haeg, Josh Wells, Aaron Stinnie
Haeg can back up virtually any position along the offensive line. Wells can serve as a backup swing tackle, and Shipley will back up Jensen. It was important to have a player with real experience to snap to Brady should Jensen go down, plus Shipley can back up all interior spots. Stinnie clinches the final spot as a backup guard/center, although they feel he is best suited as a guard. John Molchon, who can play tackle and guard, and who is light on his feet, signs to the practice squad.
DEFENSIVE LINE (5): William Gholston, Vita Vea, Ndamukong Suh, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Pat O'Connor
The Bucs view Nunez-Roches as their most improved player, and O'Connor "is the guy who really separated himself," according to Arians, because of his versatility and special-teams work, beating out Jeremiah Ledbetter. They did like veteran Kyle Love's run-stuffing ability and felt Khalil Davis was starting to pick things up -- they'll be eager to sign him to the practice squad.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER (5): Shaq Barrett, Jason Pierre-Paul, Anthony Nelson, Quinton Bell, Cam Gill (UDFA)
The Bucs go heavy on outside linebackers because of special teams. Bell and Gill edge out Kahzin Daniels for the final spots. Bell's sheer athleticism, clocking a 4.38-second 40-yard dash time at his pro day, is seen as an asset. Gill showed a lot of promise, too; special-teams coach Keith Armstrong noted what a fast learner he is and how well he escapes blocks.
INSIDE LINEBACKER (5): Lavonte David, Devin White, Kevin Minter, Jack Cichy, Chapelle Russell
Minter did an exceptional job stepping in for White last year and is a strong special-teams player. Although Cichy struggled with a torn ACL during 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. Russell showed in camp that he's strong in coverage, holding his own against Howard, prompting the Bucs to keep five inside linebackers.
CORNERBACK (6): Carlton Davis, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Jamel Dean, Ryan Smith, Parnell Motley (UDFA), 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. An undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma, Motley had two interceptions of Brady in the first week of camp and held his own against Evans. Motley was too good to pass up, even though he missed the end of camp due to injury. They like the growth they saw from Wilkins last year as he developed on the practice squad and was called up, and he has learned to play outside and inside.
SAFETY (4): Jordan Whitehead, Antoine Winfield, Mike Edwards, D'Cota Dixon
Justin Evans, the Bucs' second-round draft pick in 2017, missed all of last year with foot and ankle injuries, and he starts the season on the physically unable to perform list. He struggled with those same injuries in 2018. Dixon, who missed all of last season with a shoulder injury and had a promising training camp prior to the injury, beats out veteran Andrew Adams.
SPECIALIST (3): Matt Gay, Bradley Pinion, Zach Triner
After beating out Elliott Fry, Gay edges recently signed Ryan Succup in the final week for the starting kicking job, although it'll be close. The team really likes Succup's consistency inside the 50, which Gay has struggled with.