TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers open the 2025 NFL regular season at the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 7 at Mercedes Benz Stadium.
Among the most pressing decisions for the Bucs: Has their time with 2021 second-round draft pick Kyle Trask has potentially come to an end?
They also must navigate a still-very deep wide receiver room, even with Jalen McMillan's neck injury keeping him out until sometime after the Week 9 bye. The team will start the season with him on injured reserve, and they can designate him along with one other player to return prior to roster cutdowns, so he won't need to be on the team's initial 53-man roster.
But the team announced this week that Chris Godwin and All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs won't be on the PUP list to start the season so they can practice with the team. That means they'll be on the 53-man roster, even if neither play right away.
Then there's defensive tackle Desmond Watson, who has not practiced yet because of the team's concerns about his weight (with him coming in over 400 pounds). Coach Todd Bowles has belief in Watson though, and he feels can be part of the team's future plans.
The roster will be cut to 53 players by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Here is a projection for the Bucs:
QUARTERBACKS (2): Baker Mayfield, Kyle Trask
Trask's familiarity with this offense and its receivers keeps him on the team over Teddy Bridgewater, who's base salary wouldn't be guaranteed as a vested veteran if he were to be on their 53-man roster in Week 1. But can either win the Bucs a game should Mayfield go down?
RUNNING BACKS (4): Bucky Irving, Rachaad White, Sean Tucker, Josh Williams
White is recovering from a groin injury sustained in the first preseason game, so it makes sense for them to go one extra here with Williams -- who missed the first preseason game with a hamstring injury but averaged 4.2 yards per carry in the second and really turned heads in practice. He beats out Owen Wright for the fourth spot.
WIDE RECEIVERS (6): Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Emeka Egbuka, Sterling Shepard, Tez Johnson, Ryan Miller
Godwin will be on the roster, but he likely won't play until October, so they'll need to go heavier here. Trey Palmer, their sixth-round pick in 2023 that has started 11 games for the Bucs, is the most notable cut. Johnson has shown more playmaking ability -- along with Rakim Jarrett, who started two games for them last season. Shepard looks healthy and Miller continues to show his dependability -- both really solidified their spots in the second preseason game.
TIGHT ENDS (4): Cade Otton, Payne Durham, Ko Kieft, Devin Culp
Kieft's limitations as a pass catcher are what they are, but he brings value as a blocker and a special teams player -- and the team utilizes a lot of two tight end sets. Otherwise, he'd be the odd man out. Tanner Taula had some flashes but still battles consistency.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (10): Tristan Wirfs, Charlie Heck, Graham Barton, Cody Mauch, Luke Goedeke, Ben Bredeson, Elijah Klein, Benjamin Chukwuma, Sua Opeta, Luke Haggard
Klein's ability to play all three interior spots gives him a leg up on Jake Majors, who turned some heads early this offseason. Chukwuma is still relatively raw, but he's developed much faster than the team anticipated. Haggard has struggled but had a good final week of practice and plays guard and tackle, so he grabs the final spot. Opeta didn't see action in any preseason games but was able to come off the PUP list Aug. 5 after missing all of last year with a torn ACL.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (6): Vita Vea, Calijah Kancey, Logan Hall, Greg Gaines, C.J. Brewer, Elijah Roberts
Roberts' versatility as a pass rusher in college could allow the Bucs to potentially carry one fewer outside linebacker, while Brewer beats out Mike Greene on the interior. Watson spent all of training camp on the non-football illness list, and they can put him on the reserve/non-football list so he won't count against the 53-man roster and he can continue to work towards getting healthy.
INSIDE LINEBACKERS (4): Lavonte David, SirVocea Dennis, Deion Jones, Nick Jackson
This was a trickier cut to make because of Jackson's stellar preseason performance in the first two preseason games (2 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss, an interception and a pass breakup), John Bullock's contributions (1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss and two passed defensed) and because Anthony Walker Jr. is recovering from a lower leg injury -- which lands him on the non-football injury list.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS (4): Haason Reddick, Yaya Diaby, Chris Braswell, Anthony Nelson
Rookie David Walker, whom they had high hopes for, landed on injured reserve with a torn ACL at the beginning of camp. Outside of those four, there's a dropoff, but if they do take a fifth, it could come down to Markees Watts being able to play more special teams over Jose Ramirez.
CORNERBACKS (6): Jamel Dean, Zyon McCollum, Benjamin Morrison, Jacob Parrish, Josh Hayes, Kindle Vildor
Parrish wins the starting nickelback job over Christian Izien. Vildor had an interception and two pass breakups in the first two preseason games. Hayes is not reliable in coverage, but the team sees his value as a gunner on special teams -- which is how he nudges out Bryce Hall and Tyrek Funderburk. Hall overcame a horrific leg injury last season and Funderburk started two games last season.
SAFETIES (4): Antoine Winfield Jr., Tykee Smith, Christian Izien, Kaevon Merriweather
Undrafted free agent JJ Roberts, who would have made the 53-man roster, lands on injured reserve. Merriweather -- who can play both positions -- earns the fourth safety spot over Shilo Sanders and Rashad Wisdom, but Wisdom, who can play both safety spots and nickelback, lands on the practice squad. Sanders hurt his chances to make the roster and the practice squad after being ejected for throwing a punch Saturday.
SPECIALISTS (3): Riley Dixon (P), Chase McLaughlin (K), Evan Deckers (LS)
Dixon averaged 62.3 yards per punt this preseason, fifth best in the NFL, while McLaughlin went 3-for-3 on field goals and 3-for-3 on extra point attempts through the first two preseason games.