Though the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 90-man training camp roster is relatively set, it continues to get minor tweaks as the team works through its offseason program. On Tuesday, the Buccaneers swapped out one spot on their defensive tackle depth chart, signing third-year veteran A.J. Francis and waiving second-year man Davon Coleman.
Francis joins his fourth team after beginning his career in Miami and later seeing time in Seattle and New England. He'll have a good opportunity to compete for a reserve role in Tampa, as the Buccaneers have little experienced depth behind the front-line trio of Gerald McCoy, Clinton McDonald and Akeem Spence.
The 6-5, 330-pound Francis first entered the league as an undrafted free agent with the Dolphins in 2013. He was claimed by the Patriots off waivers in early September and later ended up on New England's practice squad for the bulk of the season. Francis went back to Miami for the final five weeks of his rookie campaign when his original team signed him off the Patriots' practice squad, but he did not see any game action.
After a 2014 season spent on injured reserve, Francis made the Dolphins' 53-man roster last year appearing in one regular-season contest and recording one tackle. He was then waived in November and claimed by the Seahawks, who got him into two contests before the end of the season. Francis signed a tender offer with Seattle as an exclusive rights free agent this spring but was waived a week ago.
The Buccaneers signed Coleman to a reserve/futures contract in February. He had previously played for Dallas and spent time on Chicago's practice squad.
