The Tampa Bay Buccaneers wrapped up their 2-1 preseason on Saturday night with a 23-19 loss to the Buffalo Bills in a game played entirely by reserves on both sidelines. Now comes the transition from the preseason to the regular season, which primarily involves trimming the active roster from 91 players down to 53. That process will likely start on Sunday but won't be fully finished, or officially announced, until after the 4:00 p.m. deadline for roster cuts on Tuesday.
For the Buccaneers, as is the case for many teams around the NFL, the evaluation process that has spanned the offseason and training camp has likely set close to 50 roster spots in stone. Still, there are some tough decisions around the edges, some of which involve the status of injured players.
Head Coach Todd Bowles stated last week that tackle Tristan Wirfs and wide receiver Chris Godwin would not start the regular season on the reserve/PUP list, which means two of the 53 spots have to be reserved for players who may not be ready to go in Week One. However, that decision means that either of the two could be ready to return to action before Week Five. Wirfs seems more likely to beat that timeline.
"That's a medical thing," said Bowles. "The fact that we're not putting him on I.R., you know, he's in play. I wouldn't say it will be week one, but he's definitely doing better."
The Bucs recently got safety Antoine Winfield Jr. back in practice but still had Christian Izien and Tykee Smith sitting out as of last week. Izien suffered an oblique injury in the second preseason game at Pittsburgh and Bowles said at the time that his injury could affect his readiness for the start of the season. The availability of those two could affect how many players the Buccaneers keep at safety to start the season, with Kaevon Merriweather and Rashad Wisdom in play for roster spots.
"Tykee is fine," said Bowles. Izzy's is a pain tolerance thing. So, we'll see how he feels next week and the next two weeks coming up to week one.
View the best photos of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 2025 preseason Week 3 matchup vs. the Buffalo Bills
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"We're okay right now if nobody else gets banged up, but it's going to be tight. It all depends on where 'Izzy' is from a health standpoint. The numbers go one way or the other. So, we'll see how that goes going forward."
The Buccaneers also have to decide whether to keep two or three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. Last season, the team rolled with just two, keeping Kyle Trask to back up starter Baker Mayfield. This summer, Trask has some competition in veteran Teddy Bridgewater, though the evaluation process was unexpectedly shortened when Bridgewater couldn't play on Saturday night due to an illness. The Buccaneers could try to keep one of their veteran backups on the practice squad but they gave Bridgewater a chance to make the 53-man roster when they signed him earlier in April.
"We had a bunch of discussions about everything, but we signed him to see if he had a chance to make the squad," said Bowles.
Bowles said the Bucs' roster-trimming process would begin promptly at 10:00 a.m on Sunday morning. As always, it will be an unwelcome task for both the Bucs' decision-makers and the players who are trying to establish themselves in the NFL.
"They're all hard on the last cut down, and honestly, they're all hard because you get to be around these guys all spring and all summer," said Bowles. "So, they're all pretty difficult for us from a personal standpoint. From a player standpoint, I mean, a lot of the tape speaks for itself and you just have to make those decisions accordingly."
