Arians: Pat O'Connor Locks Up Spot on Buccaneers Final Roster
There wasn't much good to pull from Tampa Bay's 34-3 preseason loss to the Tennessee Titans on Saturday night, perhaps other than some plays made by the Buccaneers' defensive front.
One member of the defensive line in particular, rising fifth-year pro Pat O'Connor, had himself quite the game.
O'Connor, 27, started upfront as Tampa Bay rested the vast majority of its first-team, and shined. O'Connor quickly made an impact by tallying two tackles for loss on Tennessee's first two offensive drives, both being run stops which put the Titans in poor position and played a crucial part in both drives ending in punts.
In the second quarter, O'Connor made his presence felt as a pass rusher, sacking quarterback Logan Woodside for a loss of eight yards on 2nd and eight. Once again, following a six-yard third-down rush, O'Connor's direct contributions forced Tennessee to give the ball back to the Buccaneers, turning O'Connor into one of Tampa Bay's very few impact players throughout the night.
In the end, head coach Bruce Arians was satisfied enough by O'Connor's performance that he guaranteed the defensive lineman will make the Buccaneers' final 53-man roster ahead of this season.
"I know Pat [O’Connor] made it in this game because he just did it," Arians said after the game.
O'Connor had been battling linemen Jeremiah Ledbetter, Khalil Davis, Benning Potoa'e and Kobe Smith for a depth role on Tampa Bay's defensive front throughout the preseason.
“These games are so important for me," O'Connor said post-game. "Just to show how versatile I can be – from special teams, to [defensive] tackle, to nose tackle, to [defensive] end. Whatever it is – I’ll play punter if they wanted me to, it doesn’t matter. Just to show how versatile I can be in all aspects of the game, and just play as hard as I could – trying my best to do that."
The team could still afford to keep another lineman if it chooses, most likely being Davis as he too has performed well this preseason, but one could assume that the team is alright on depth with Steve McClendon and Rakeem Nunez-Roches filling in alongside O'Connor behind the starting three of Ndamukong Suh, William Gholston and Vita Vea.
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