S Travaris Robinson appeared in four games for the Bucs last year, recording an interception against Green Bay
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced a pair of roster moves Thursday night, less than a day before the team's players are due to report to training camp in Central Florida. Neither move was particularly earth-shaking, but they were important, as the Buccaneers had to create some roster space before the opening of camp.
Fifth-year wide receiver Sylvester Morris was placed on injured reserve and, as announced in June, will miss the entire season. In addition, second-year safety Travaris Robinson was released.
The moves with Morris and Robinson are part of the curious math the Bucs must accomplish by the start of camp, making over 90 players fit into an 80-man NFL roster limit.
Mitigating that limit are NFL Europe exemptions, of which the Buccaneers earned eight this year. That means the team can take 88 players to training camp, as long as eight of them played in the NFLEL this past spring. In addition, the six players drafted in April who have are still unsigned do not yet count against the roster. However, those six – from third-round linebacker Marquis Cooper to seventh-round fullback Casey Cramer – cannot report until they have signed.
In recent years, the Bucs have inked a majority of their draft picks on or about the opening day of camp. Last week, first-round WR Michael Clayton and seventh-round CB Lenny Williams agreed to deals; the Clayton signing, in particular, was encouraging as the first-round players are usually the most difficult deals to hammer out by far.
Morris will spend his fourth consecutive NFL season on injured reserve.
After a very impressive rookie season with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2000, Morris suffered a severe right knee injury in an offseason workout in June of 2001. He spent that campaign on injured reserve and was unable to come back in the following training camp. A hip injury wiped out his 2003 season but he was working hard to make a triumphant return with the Buccaneers in 2004. Morris' luck proved to be worse than bad, however, as a severe injury to his left knee in a June workout with the Buccaneers derailed that comeback. Morris has been rehabbing at One Buc Place since his June mishap.
Robinson first joined the Buccaneers as an October waiver claim from the Atlanta Falcons last year. An undrafted free agent with the Falcons in 2003, Robinson appeared in five games with one start in Atlanta before jumping to Tampa. For the Bucs, he saw action in four games and had an interception against Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers in November.
Buccaneer players are scheduled to report to training camp on Friday between noon and 4:00 p.m. ET.
