TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers open the 2021 NFL regular season against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 9 at Raymond James Stadium. The Bucs finished the 2020 regular season with a 11-5 record before winning Super Bowl LV against the Kansas City Chiefs.
With all 22 starters returning from their Super Bowl team, few roster spots were up for grabs this year, with key decisions coming down to who can help the Bucs most on special teams and how to maximize depth along the offensive line, a unit hit hard by injuries during camp.
The roster will be cut to 53 players by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Here is a projection:
QUARTERBACK (3): Tom Brady, Blaine Gabbert, Kyle Trask
It wasn't that Trask outperformed Ryan Griffin for the third quarterback spot, although Griffin didn't do himself any favors throwing two interceptions in the first preseason game. But as a second-round pick, Trask wasn't going to make it through waivers without being claimed. With the NFL once again utilizing expanded practice squad rosters due to COVID-19, Griffin will go to the practice squad.
RUNNING BACK (4): Leonard Fournette, Ronald Jones, Giovani Bernard, Ke'Shawn Vaughn
Fournette and Jones will once again split carries on first and second downs, with Bernard serving as the third-down back. Vaughn clinches the fourth spot after flashing as a gunner on special teams.
WIDE RECEIVER (6): Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown, Scotty Miller, Tyler Johnson, Jaelon Darden
Johnson makes his way out of Arians' doghouse after Arians said he arrived in camp out of shape, edging out Jaydon Mickens, who looked strong throughout camp but faded down the stretch in the preseason and Cyril Grayson, who showed a lot of improvement as a pass-catcher. Justin Watson, who missed all of camp after undergoing knee surgery, starts the year on the PUP list. Darden wins the punt and kick returner job.
TIGHT END (4): Rob Gronkowski, O.J. Howard, Cameron Brate, Tanner Hudson
Arians said Hudson regressed as a blocker -- a no-no with Brady at QB -- while Codey McElroy has shown steady improvement but Hudson wins here due to experience. Ideally, the Bucs would prefer to keep just three tight ends but with Brate coming back from injury, they might be inclined to keep four.
OFFENSIVE LINE (9): Donovan Smith, Ali Marpet, Ryan Jensen, Alex Cappa, Tristan Wirfs, Aaron Stinnie, Robert Hainsey, Josh Wells, Nick Leverett
The Bucs return all five starters, plus Stinnie, who stepped in for Cappa in three postseason games, and gave Kappa a strong push in camp. Depth has been impacted by injuries, though. Hainsey missed a significant portion of camp due to injury, but they believe he can eventually back up all five roles after learning the center position. Wells will continue to serve as a backup swing tackle as he did last year. Leverett, who came in last year as a guard and missed final cuts, stepped into a backup left tackle role this preseason due to injuries and shined, and he's been playing center, which is invaluable, so he edges out tackle Brad Seaton because of versatility. Sadarius Hutcherson had a great camp but suffered a torn ACL in the first preseason game, landing him on injured reserve -- he would have been in consideration.
DEFENSIVE LINE (7): Will Gholston, Ndamukong Suh, Vita Vea, Steve McLendon, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Patrick O'Connor, Khalil Davis
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 and Davis making the most of the preseason action he didn't get last year.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER (4): Shaquil Barrett, Jason Pierre-Paul, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Anthony Nelson
Tryon-Shoyinka 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. Cam Gill, who was injured most of camp, misses out.
INSIDE LINEBACKER (4): Devin White, Lavonte David, Kevin Minter, K.J. Britt
Veteran Joe Jones had a strong preseason but Britt separated himself. Grant Stuard, Mr. Irrelevant, is learning the nuances of the linebacker position after mostly playing special teams in college. He will be a solid addition to the practice squad.
CORNERBACK (5): Carlton Davis, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Jamel Dean, Ross Cockrell, Dee Delaney
Davis, Murphy-Bunting and Dean remain the starting three. Cockrell plays cornerback, nickelback and safety. Delaney edges out veteran Antonio Hamilton, rookie Chris Wilcox and Herb Miller for the final spot because his work as a gunner and jammer on special teams and a need for outside cornerbacks. Hamilton is more of a nickel specialist.
SAFETIES (4): Jordan Whitehead, Antoine Winfield Jr., Mike Edwards, Javon Hagan
Edwards has filled in beautifully for Whitehead, who has dealt with a shoulder injury and now a hamstring injury. Again, Cockrell can also play safety, so there's a lot of roster flexibility there. Hagan edges Chris Cooper for the final safety spot.
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%). But Succop did have some rough patches in camp and missed the third preseason game due to COVID-19. Pinion produced a serviceable 40.2 net average on punts last year but a ton of consistency on kickoffs.