Tampa Bay Buccaneers Release Five Players to Meet Roster Limit

The Bucs waived five players on Sunday to meet the 80-man roster limit.

Sunday in the preseason has become chopping day for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the franchise continues to cut down on its roster ahead of the 2021 football season.

After releasing three players last week on this day, the Bucs waived five more on Sunday, the team announced. Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times was the first to report the moves.

The five players who were released in order to meet the 80-player roster limit are wide receiver T.J. Simmons, running back Troymaine Pope, cornerback Nate Brooks, safety Lawrence White IV and outside linebacker Quinton Bell. 

The most notable of the cuts is Bell, who made the 53-man roster for the Bucs last year. He appeared in fives game for Tampa Bay last season after signing to the team's practice squad in November 2019. During Saturday's preseason game vs. the Tennessee Titans, Bell recorded two solo tackles.

Bell originally entered the NFL as a seventh-round pick for the Oakland Raiders in the 2019 NFL Draft before spending time on Oakland's practice squad and eventually landing in Tampa Bay.

As for Simmons, the wide receiver from West Virginia signed with the Bucs as an undrafted free agent in early May. He was targeted twice during Saturday's preseason game vs. the Titans but recorded no catches. He recovered one fumble as well. Making 21 starts over three seasons as a Mountaineer, Simmons finished his college career with 86 catches for 1,197 yards and nine touchdowns.

Brooks recorded one tackle against the Titans on Saturday. He signed with the Bucs in May as well as a free agent after spending the 2020 season with the Baltimore Ravens. He originally signed as an undrafted free agent with the Arizona Cardinals in 2019 and has spent time on the practice squads for the Patriots, Dolphins, and Ravens.

Finally, there is Pope, who did not play Saturday night vs. the Titans. The Jacksonville State product has spent time with the New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks, and the Los Angeles Chargers since his rookie season in 2016. Last year, Pope appeared in six games for LA rushing for a career-high 76 yards on just 15 carries.

Waiving those five players is part of a longer process to get Tampa Bay down to the 53-man roster requirement before the start of the regular season. The Bucs have until Tuesday, Aug. 31 at 4 p.m. ET to do so, but there are two other deadlines before then as part of the process.

Last week, the team released cornerback Cameron Kinley, tight end De’Quan Hampton and wide receiver Josh Pearson.

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