The Tampa Bay Buccaneers welcome the defending Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots into Raymond James Stadium tonight for the national anthem and a little football. Odds makers have installed the Patriots as 5-point favorites, but this year’s model has a few chinks in the armor, especially the league’s lowest-ranked defense.
On Wednesday, the Bucs and Miami Dolphins announced the season opener scheduled for Sunday in Miami, will instead be played on November 19, the scheduled bye week for both teams. That means Tampa Bay will open the season against the Chicago Bears at Raymond James Stadium next Sunday.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced their 53-player roster on Saturday. There were no major surprises, but a few disappointments. Among the most disappointing, but expected, cuts was 2017 fifth-round selection Jeremy McNichols. The Bucs thought the former Boise State star had a chance to develop into a running threat like Doug Martin or Miami’s Jay Ajayi, both former Boise State standouts.
With training camp fully underway, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are preparing for their first preseason game against the Bengals in Cincinnati just 9 days from now. As usual, starters will play only a few series before letting the backups and newcomers show their stuff. This year’s camp will provide two particular areas of interest on the offensive side of the ball. First will be the unveiling of tight end O.J. Howard, the team’s top draft pick, and newly acquired deep receiving threat…
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Alabama tight end O.J. Howard with the 19th pick in the NFL draft, providing young quarterback Jameis Winston with another playmaker for an improved offense. Winston threw for more than 4,000 yards each of the past two seasons, however the Bucs have struggled to score points. General manager Jason Licht and coach Dirk Koetter are counting on him to be able to get the ball in the end zone with more regularity after adding Howard,…
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may have found a complementary running back for Doug Martin once their No. 1 back returns from a hamstring injury. Jacquizz Rodgers finished with a career-best 101 rushing yards on 30 carries — 32 yards and 17 carries more than he had in the Buccaneers’ previous three games combined — as Tampa Bay defeated the Carolina Panthers 17-14 on Monday night. The Bucs (2-3), who came into the game ranked 28th in the league in rushing,…
The chemistry has begun. So far, the Tampa Bay Bucs like what they see from Jameis Winston and wide receiver Mike Evans. The two connected five times for 99 yards and a touchdown Sunday afternoon in a 31-24 victory over Atlanta. For Evans, much of the battle has been to control his emotions on the field. “Mike has really worked hard on that, all through training camp,” said coach Dirk Koetter. “Even the ball early in the game that Jameis…