The Tampa Bay Buccaneers formed their first 53-man roster for the 2025 regular season roster with a series of moves on Tuesday afternoon, and it reflected a significant amount of depth the team had at several positions, including wide receiver and the combination of cornerbacks and safeties. Three of 53 spots necessarily go to the specialist trio of punter-kicker-snapper, leaving 50 spots to be divvied up between the positions on offense and defense and the Bucs are currently at an even 25-25 split, including seven receivers and 11 defensive backs.

The Buccaneers were able to go heavy at those positions and also retain four players at both tight end and running back in part because they chose to keep just two quarterbacks on the active roster and will almost certainly carry a third on the practice squad, just as they did last year. The major difference, of course, is that Teddy Bridgwater is now the backup to Baker Mayfield, replacing Kyle Trask. The Buccaneers also went lighter then usual at offensive line, keeping just eight players on that unit on Tuesday, including tackle Tristan Wirfs, who may not be ready for the start of the regular season. As such, there is likely to be some further movement at that position in the coming days.

The overload at receiver explains the waiver of 2023 sixth-round pick Trey Palmer and underlines the depth the Buccaneers have at the position after drafting Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson back in April. Like Wirfs, Chris Godwin was also given a spot on the 53-man roster despite likely not being cleared to play at the start of the regular season. The Buccaneers chose this approach with those two key offensive players because keeping them off the reserve/physically unable to perform list allows them to begin practicing sooner and to avoid missing a full four games if they are ready to return to action earlier. Both Godwin and Wirfs were removed from the active/PUP list on Tuesday amid the rest of the day's flurry of moves.

Tampa Bay's 2024 roster is also quite young, with eight rookies and 28 players added as draft picks or undrafted rookies in the last three years. Thirty-four of the 53 are 26 or younger and only nine are over 30: Mayfield, Bridgewater, Lavonte David, Riley Dixon, Mike Evans, Deion Jones, Haason Reddick, Sterling Shepard and Vita Vea.

Starting Wednesday, the Buccaneers will begin building a 17-man practice squad, which means that many of the players who did not make it through Tuesday's cuts will be back in the building.

Listed below is how the initial 53-man roster breaks down, with the players listed alphabetically at each position (rookies marked with an asterisk).

Quarterbacks (2): Teddy Bridgewater, Baker Mayfield

As noted, the Buccaneers are rolling with only two quarterbacks on the active roster for the second season in a row. Undrafted rookie Connor Bazelak, who completed 69.6% of his passes in the preseason, is an obvious candidate to return and serve as the team's third quarterback on the practice squad.

Mayfield, who succeeded Tom Brady as the Bucs' starting quarterback and helped push the team's streak to four straight NFC titles, is coming off one of best two-season stretches in franchise history. In 34 regular season games he has already produced 8,544 passing yards, 69 touchdown passes and a 100.7 passer rating. His 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns in 2024 were both career highs and they both ranked in the top three in the NFL; Mayfield was also top five in Attempts, completion, completion percentage, touchdown percentage and passer rating.

Mayfield hasn't missed a start across two seasons but if the Buccaneers do have to turn to their backup they now have one with extensive NFL experience. Bridgewater has logged 79 games and 65 starts over 10 seasons and was most recently a full-time starter for the Denver Broncos in 2021. In 2019, Bridgewater backed up Drew Brees in New Orleans, and when Brees missed time in the middle of the season the Saints won all five of Bridgewater's starts.

Running Backs (4): Bucky Irving, Sean Tucker, Rachaad White, Josh Williams *

The Buccaneers retained their top three backs from 2024 with Irving, White and Tucker but added a fourth to the mix with impressive rookie free agent Josh Williams. Williams ran 13 times for 49 yards during the preseason and also averaged 36.0 yards on three kickoff returns.

Irving was a rookie sensation in 2024, as the fourth-round pick out of Oregon led all NFL newcomers in rushing yards (1,122), yards from scrimmage (1,514) and touchdown runs (eight). He gradually supplanted White as the starter and primary ballcarrier in the Bucs' backfield but White continued to be an excellent complementary back, surpassing 1,000 yards from scrimmage for the second year in a row and providing very reliable pass blocking. Tucker didn't get as many opportunities behind that duo but did average 6.2 yards per carry and won an NFC Offensive Player of the Week award.

Wide Receivers (7): Emeka Egbuka *, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Kameron Johnson, Tez Johnson *, Ryan Miller, Sterling Shepard

The Bucs' cutdown decisions at the receiver spot would have been even more difficult if WR Jalen McMillan hadn't sustained a severe neck strain in a preseason game, which led to him being placed on injured reserve on Tuesday. McMillan was given the designated-for-return option, but he is expected to miss at least the first half of the season.

With McMillan and Godwin currently unavailable, Egbuka, the 19th-overall pick in this year's draft, is likely to open his NFL career as a starter. Egbuka was extremely impressive in training camp and the preseason and will likely retain a significant role even when Godwin returns to action. Tez Johnson looks like a seventh-round steal with his speed and lightning-quick moves and could also help in the return game. Kam Johnson may have won one or both return jobs during the preseason and Miller has shown on multiple occasions that he can capably fill in at any of the receiver spots and provide strong blocking, as well. Shepard stayed healthy in his second Bucs' training camp and demonstrated that there is plenty left in his tank after the long-time Giant caught 32 passes for 334 yards for the Buccaneers last year.

Tight Ends (4): Devin Culp, Payne Durham, Ko Kieft, Cade Otton

The Buccaneers will start the 2025 season with the exact same group of tight ends they rostered last season. The only cut from the group was that of Tanner Taula, who has spent most of the past two years on Tampa Bay's practice squad.

Though he was slowed by injury in training camp, Otton remains the do-it-all starter in the Bucs' offense and will likely get the largest share of snaps once again. He finished 2024, his third season, with a career-high 57 receptions for 600 yards and four touchdowns. Durham is a bigger tight end who provides strong blocking and also is capable of making plays downfield. That latter part is also true for Culp, who could carve out a larger role in his second season after making a couple of big plays in his late-season cameo as a rookie.

Offensive Linemen (8): Graham Barton, Ben Bredeson, Benjamin Chukwuma *, Luke Goedeke, Charlie Heck, Elijah Klein, Cody Mauch, Tristan Wirfs

If Wirfs is not ready to go in Week One, the Buccaneers would only have seven healthy offensive lineman ready to suit up against the Falcons. Since teams can keep 48 players active on game day instead of 47 only if eight of those players are offensive linemen, an addition to this group makes sense sometime soon. The Bucs are hoping, however, that Wirfs doesn't miss the full four games he would have had to sit out had he been placed on the PUP list.

The Buccaneers had on of the best offensive lines in the NFL in 2024, and with the re-signing of Bredeson in the offseason, they will return all five starters, at least as soon as Wirfs is clears. Wirfs was a first-team Associated Press selection at left tackle last season and thus is difficult to adequately replace for any period of time. Goedeke could be in line for a contract extension sooner rather than later after putting in increasingly strong seasons at right tackle and Graham Barton, a first-round pick in 2024, had a very promising debut season at center. The most interesting addition to this group is that of Chukwuma, an offensive tackle from Georgia State who has only played 23 football games in his life, with 12 starts. That didn't stop him from making the Bucs' 53-man roster and currently serving as the primary backup to Charlie Heck at left tackle.

Defensive Linemen (5): Greg Gaines, Logan Hall, Calijah Kancey, Elijah Roberts *, Vita Vea

The Buccaneers went a little light at this position after cutting seven defensive linemen on Tuesday, including Mike Greene, C.J. Brewer and Adam Gotsis. The team could use the practice squad to deepen the position and give it activation options on game days if they want to have six linemen available.

Kancey and Vea were the Bucs' two leading sack artists in 2024, with 7.5 and 7.0, respectively. Kancey did so in just 12 games and might be poised for a double-digit sack breakout in his third season. Vea remains one of the strongest players in the NFL and is critical to one of the league's best run defenses. Hall is going into the final year of his rookie deal and has quietly carved out a role as a two-down lineman who stops the run and takes advantage of his opportunities to rush the passer. Roberts was one of the eight rookies to make the team, a fifth-round draft pick who led the FBS in quarterback pressures over the past two seasons combined and has shown that same sort of ability during the preseason.

Outside Linebackers (5): Chris Braswell, Yaya Diaby, Anthony Nelson, Haason Reddick, Markees Watts

The Bucs kept five players in their edge rush rotation and could have all five active on game days if the fifth one is heavily involved in special teams. That appears to be the case for Watts, who beat out Jose Ramirez for that fifth spot. The Buccaneers are hoping that newcomer Haason Reddick is the missing piece needed to turn up the heat in their edge rushing; before a 2024 season mostly lost to a trade and a contract dispute, Reddick had posted four consecutive double-digit sack seasons for the Cardinals, Panthers and Eagles. Yaya Diaby's raw sack numbers went down a bit in 2025 from his breakout rookie season but other metrics show that he applied much more pressure on quarterbacks in his second campaign and was one of the better two-way edge defenders in the NFL.

Inside Linebackers (4): John Bullock *, Lavonte David, SirVocea Dennis, Deion Jones

The Buccaneers are only keeping four off-ball linebackers to start the season, and that includes Bullock, the undrafted rookie out of Nebraska who likely won his spot with his special teams contributions. The ageless David will take one starting spot and will likely be joined by third-year man Dennis, though veteran Deion Jones appeared to be pushing for playing time with a strong training camp.

David showed no signs of decline in his 13th season in 2024, with another 122 tackles to lead the team as well as his highest sack total (5.5) since 2013. He will likely serve as a team captain for the 12th year in a row and even if he has lost a bit of speed from his earliest seasons he has made up for it with a deep understanding of the game and the pursuit angles to take. Dennis needed shoulder surgery early last season but before he landed on I.R. he was showing significant promise, particularly in terms of pass coverage.

Cornerbacks (6): Jamel Dean, Josh Hayes, Zyon McCollum, Benjamin Morrison *, Jacob Parrish *, Kindle Vildor

The Bucs bring back their two starting outside corners in Dean and McCollum but could have a new starter in the slot with Parrish, the third-round rookie. Parrish has shown impressive poise and a grasp of the Bucs' defensive scheme in his debut camp and has the toughness and change-of-direction skills to thrive in the slot.

Morrison, a second-round pick this past April, has been sidelined in recent weeks with a leg injury but could return to practice next week as the Bucs start preparing for the opener in Atlanta. Josh Hayes and Kindle Vildor both offer contributions on special teams and Vildor is a versatile player who can help the Bucs out at multiple positions when and if secondary injuries start piling up, as they did last year.

Safeties (5): Christian Izien, Kaevon Merriweather, Tykee Smith, Antoine Winfield Jr., Rashad Wisdom

With six corners and five safeties, the Bucs went a little deep in the secondary to start the season, but there are still questions about whether or not Izien (oblique) will be ready to go for Week One. Izien showed in 2024 that he can handle virtually any position in the secondary and is invaluable when the team experiences an accumulation of injuries at one particular spot.

Smith primarily played in the slot as a rookie but is now moving to a starting safety position next to Winfield. Smith reminded many of Winfield with his playmaking ability in 2024 and the Buccaneers expect him to thrive at the back end of the secondary. Winfield had poor injury fortune in 2024, his follow-up season to a brilliant 2023 that earned him first-team AP All-Pro honors but the team is anticipating a return to form for the two-time Pro Bowler.

Specialists (3): Evan Deckers, Riley Dixon, Chase McLaughlin

Deckers and McLaughlin return as incumbents at their specialist positions, and McLaughlin has made 59 of his 63 field goal attempts in two seasons in Tampa, including 15 of 18 from 50 yards and beyond.

The Buccaneers had a rough season at the punter spot in 2024, however, and called in the veteran Dixon to return stability to the position. Starting with former fifth-round draft pick Jake Camarda, the Bucs used three different punters and they combined for a 43.7-yard gross average and a 37.4 net average. In the preseason, Dixon punted 14 times with a 49.1-yard gross and a 40.6-yard net