TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers open the season with a Sunday Night Football matchup on Sept. 11 against the Dallas Cowboys.
Unlike last season, when the Bucs returned all 22 starters on offense and defense and struggled with injuries down the stretch, this roster has several new faces and is under new leadership in coach Todd Bowles, who replaced Bruce Arians this offseason.
Can this group provide enough to give quarterback Tom Brady one more ring, especially without veteran tight end Rob Gronkowski? How much will the team miss the leadership of Jason Pierre-Paul, Ndamukong Suh and Ali Marpet?
Here's an early prediction of the Bucs' 53-man roster:
QUARTERBACK (3): Tom Brady, Blaine Gabbert, Kyle Trask
Just like last year, the Bucs will carry three quarterbacks on the active roster, with a fourth -- Ryan Griffin -- on the practice squad. Gabbert once again will serve as Brady's backup, although Trask has shown improvement since being taken in Round 2 last year.
RUNNING BACK (4): Leonard Fournette, Rachaad White, Ke'Shawn Vaughn, Giovani Bernard
Fournette wins the starting job, assuming he comes into camp in shape, with White and Vaughn serving as backups and Bernard as the third-down back. It's also possible that if White shows enough as a pass-protector, he could beat out Bernard, and the Bucs could carry just three here -- giving them one more roster spot to round out another position.
WIDE RECEIVER (7): Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Russell Gage, Cyril Grayson, Scotty Miller, Breshad Perriman, Deven Thompkins
Grayson makes the roster over Tyler Johnson because of his physicality and rapport with Brady. Jaelon Darden's chemistry with Brady improved but was still too inconsistent, and Thompkins, an undrafted free agent whom Bowles singled out after mandatory minicamp, wins the final spot over Darden because of his special teams return ability -- he ran a 4.35 40-yard dash at his Utah State pro day.
TIGHT END (4): Cameron Brate, Codey McElroy, Cade Otton, Ko Kieft
With Gronkowski retiring and O.J. Howard now with the Buffalo Bills, there's a lot of inexperience in this group outside of Brate. If Otton, who missed minicamp while recovering from ankle surgery, isn't ready, he'd be a candidate for the PUP.
OFFENSIVE LINE (9): Donovan Smith, Luke Goedeke, Ryan Jensen, Shaq Mason, Tristan Wirfs, Aaron Stinnie, Robert Hainsey, Josh Wells, Nick Leverett Sadarius Hutcherson
Hutcherson, who had a great camp last year as a rookie before being placed on injured reserve with an ACL injury, gets edged out by Leverett, who can back up all five positions and started against the Indianapolis Colts last season. Goedeke wins the starting left guard spot. For the final spot, it's a toss-up between Wells and Fred Johnson.
DEFENSIVE LINE (6): William Gholston, Akiem Hicks, Vita Vea, Logan Hall, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Patrick O'Connor
Hicks' presence allows the Bucs to slowly work Hall into the three-technique spot, and Hicks can also rotate with Gholston at defensive end. O'Connor wins the final spot because of his work on special teams.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER (4): Shaquil Barrett, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Anthony Nelson, Cam Gill
This is one area the Bucs could use a free-agent pickup, as Tryon-Shoyinka steps into a full-time starting role and Nelson, who had a career-high five sacks last season, serves as a rotational player. As of right now, Gill is penciled in as the fourth outside linebacker because of his work on special teams, but keep an eye on seventh-round draft pick Andre Anthony and Elijah Ponder, who converted from defensive tackle last year.
INSIDE LINEBACKER (4): Devin White, Lavonte David, K.J. Britt, Grant Stuard
Britt steps into Kevin Minter's old role backing up both White and David, while Stuard, last year's Mr. Irrelevant who was active for all 17 regular-season games and two postseason games, continues his strong work on special teams coverage.
CORNERBACK (5): Carlton Davis, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Jamel Dean, Zyon McCollum, Dee Delaney
Delaney edges out Ross Cockrell and Rashard Robinson for the fifth cornerback spot after a very strong spring. Safety Logan Ryan can back up Murphy-Bunting at nickel.
SAFETIES (4): Antoine Winfield Jr., Mike Edwards, Logan Ryan, Keanu Neal
Ryan brings versatility, and Neal, a former first-round draft pick by the Atlanta Falcons who had converted to linebacker when he was with the Dallas Cowboys last season, can contribute in run support and early downs.
SPECIALISTS (3): Ryan Succop, Jake Camarda, Zach Triner
Camarda, the Bucs' fourth-round draft pick, beats out Bradley Pinion, who carries a $2.9 million cap hit for 2022, for the starting punter job.