The Tampa Bay Buccaneers topped off their gas tank on Monday, just before beginning the long haul that is training camp.
The Buccaneers' most recent player-personnel moves were the mid-June waiver of defensive back Maurice Fleming and the late-June release of guard J.R. Sweezy. That left two available spots on the 90-man training camp roster, and the Buccaneers filled those openings with the signings of safety Josh Liddell and defensive end Kiante Anderson. Both were undrafted rookie free agents, though the Buccaneers briefly had Liddell on their roster in May.
Tampa Bay will begin training camp practices later this week. The teams rookies reported for camp on Monday and the veterans will join them on Wednesday. Every spot on the 90-man roster is valuable during training camp, so it's unsurprising that the team chose to fill all of them before practices began. (Tampa Bay will actually carry 91 players as linebacker Eric Nzeocha is exempt as part of an international practice squad program.)
The 6-1, 211-pound Liddell signed with the Buccaneers immediately after the 2018 NFL Draft but was then waived after taking part in the team's rookie mini-camp. At Arkansas, he started 37 of the 50 games in which he played, including the last 31. His career totals included 177 tackles, five interceptions, nine passes defensed, 3.5 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles. Liddell was also a three-time selection to the SEC's Academic Honor Roll. He played his high school ball in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
Anderson (6-4, 252) started his tenure at East Carolina as an outside linebacker but moved to defensive end for his senior campaign. In his two seasons with the Pirates, he recorded 55 tackles, 5.0 sacks and 11 tackles for loss, with 4.5 of his sacks coming last year in his new position on the line. Anderson walked on to the ECU program after transferring from Division II St. Augustine's, where he played the 2013 and 2014 seasons. He hails from Greenville, North Carolina.
