TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers open training camp on July 25 at the AdventHealth Training Center in Tampa, Florida. Coming off a 31-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, the Bucs will try to become the first team since the New England Patriots in 2004 and 2005 to win back-to-back Super Bowls, while quarterback Tom Brady will try to snag his eighth Super Bowl ring while helping the Bucs navigate the unfamiliar territory of being the ones to beat.
In order to do that, they'll have to improve their special teams coverage units, having given up the most yards per kickoff return in 2020 (33.64 yards per return), and seventh-most yards in punt returns (10.26 yards per return), which will be a key factor for those vying for roster spots. Because the Bucs returned nearly every player from their 2020 roster, several 2021 draft picks wind up missing the cut.
Here's a 53-man roster projection:
QUARTERBACK (3): Tom Brady, Blaine Gabbert, Kyle Trask
Trask, the Bucs' second-round draft pick, whom coach Bruce Arians and quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen have both likened to Andrew Luck in terms of mental acuity, beats out Ryan Griffin for the third quarterback spot.
RUNNING BACK (3): Leonard Fournette, Ronald Jones II, Giovani Bernard.
Fournette and Jones will once again split carries on first and second down, with Bernard serving as the third-down back, edging out 2020 third-round draft pick Ke'Shawn Vaughn, whom Arians said needed to show more improvement on special teams after playing just 39 special teams snaps in 2020.
WIDE RECEIVER (7): Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown, Scotty Miller, Tyler Johnson, Justin Watson, Jaelon Darden
The final two spots came down to special teams, an area Arians wanted to improve this offseason. Watson's solid in punt and kick return coverage with four special teams tackles last year and a sack on a fake punt attempt by Carolina, while Darden, whom Brady played a role in scouting, ultimately beats out Jaydon Mickens to earn kick and punt return duties.
TIGHT END (4): Rob Gronkowski, O.J. Howard, Cameron Brate, Tanner Hudson
With Antony Auclair now in Houston, this is a much more "cut and dry" decision this year. With veterans sitting out OTAs, Hudson caught everything that came his way.
OFFENSIVE LINE: (9) Donovan Smith, Ali Marpet, Ryan Jensen, Alex Cappa, Tristan Wirfs, Aaron Stinnie, Robert Hainsey, Josh Wells, Sadarius Hutcherson
The Bucs return all five starters on their offensive line. Wells will serve as the backup swing tackle. Stinnie more than proved his worth as a backup guard after Cappa suffered a fractured ankle in the wild-card game. While Hainsey is learning the center position, the Bucs believe he can eventually back up all five positions. The ninth and final spot was the hardest to project, having not seen Brad Seaton in a year due to opting out because of COVID-19, but Hutcherson's ability to play left tackle, left guard and right guard in college made him really appealing.
DEFENSIVE LINE (6): Will Gholston, Ndamukong Suh, Vita Vea, Steve McLendon, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Patrick O'Connor
The Bucs return just about everybody from their top-ranked run defense in 2020, with O'Connor, who played the most special teams snaps of any Bucs player in Super Bowl LV, clinching the final spot over Khalil Davis, who struggled to see the field last year.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER (5): Shaquil Barrett, Jason Pierre-Paul, Joe Tryon, Anthony Nelson, Cam Gill
Tryon steps into the role of a rotational pass-rusher, which is where Nelson was last year. Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles will continue to find matchups that utilize Nelson's length, and he'll be a contributor on special teams, along with Gill, who edges out Quinton Bell.
INSIDE LINEBACKER (4): Devin White, Lavonte David, Kevin Minter, Joe Jones
Jones wins the final spot due to experience, having spent the last four seasons with the Denver Broncos, to beat out draft picks K.J. Britt and Grant Stuard, who both make solid practice squad candidates.
CORNERBACK (5): Carlton Davis, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Jamel Dean, Ross Cockrell, Antonio Hamilton
Davis, Murphy-Bunting and Dean remain the starting three with Cockrell and Hamilton -- who played in all 16 regular-season games for the Chiefs last year, playing 75% of snaps on special teams -- beating out Herb Miller and seventh-round draft pick Chris Wilcox for the final two spots.
SAFETIES (4): Jordan Whitehead, Antoine Winfield Jr., Mike Edwards, Raven Greene
Curtis Riley, who intercepted Brady during minicamp, was in position to compete for a roster spot before suffering a torn Achilles. Javon Hagan, a practice squad player last year whom Arians praised for dropping 10 pounds this offseason, was also in consideration. But Greene, who spent the last three years playing a hybrid/safety role for the Green Bay Packers and saw action in 20 games, earns the job.
SPECIALISTS (3): Ryan Succop, Bradley Pinion, Zach Triner
The Bucs' 2020 Super Bowl kicking and punting units return intact after Succop produced the second-highest field goal percentage in team history last year (90.3%), while Pinion produced a serviceable 40.2 net average on punts last year, but a ton of consistency on kickoffs.