Tampa Bay Buccaneers Waive Three Players Following Preseason Opener

After a 19-14 loss to the Bengals Saturday night, the Bucs released three players from the team, including cornerback Cameron Kinley.

Less than 24 hours after the first game of the 2021 preseason, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers waived three players on Sunday, the team announced.

Of the three released, the most notable player is cornerback Cameron Kinley, who received special clearance from the Department of Defense to pursue his NFL career. 

Kinley is joined by tight end De’Quan Hampton and wide receiver Josh Pearson as those other two were released by the Bucs.

Kinley signed with Tampa Bay as an undrafted free agent in May but missed all of the Bucs organized team activities and mandatory minicamp. The Naval Academy product originally had his waiver to postpone his required military service denied, but in July that decision was reversed and Kinley joined the Bucs.

During Saturday night's preseason opener vs. the Cincinnati Bengals, Kinley totaled six tackles in the secondary, five of which were solo. However, Kinley was flagged for lowering his head to initiate contact midway through the third quarter. The drive resulted in a Bengals field goal.

As for Pearson, the Jacksonville State product originally signed with the Bucs as an undrafted free agent in May 2020. Against the Bengals Saturday night, Pearson was targeted twice and didn't record a catch.

Meanwhile, Hampton joined the team mostly to provide depth during training camp when tight end Cameron Brate was moved to the active/physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Brate came off the PUP list last week. 

Prior to joining the Bucs, Hampton, who was targeted once and didn't record a catch vs. the Bengals, most recently played professional football for the Los Angeles Wildcats in the now-obsolete XFL.

Waiving those three 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.

Tampa Bay must cut the roster down to 85 by this Tuesday, Aug. 17, then down to 80 by next Tuesday, Aug. 24.

Of course, one thing that makes it challenging for players competing for a roster spot is the fact that Tampa Bay returns all 22 starters from last season's Super Bowl run. Bucs head coach Bruce Arians talked about that process Sunday morning.

“Yeah, I mean the top 30 to 35, that’s set and hopefully we can get through preseason with no injuries with that group," Arians said about the starters who are back. "But there’s a hell of a lot of competition, not just for those other roster spots, but for practice squad spots. Those guys played up big for us last year – those guys that we elevated off the practice squad played in huge games down the stretch. That competition for those 20 to 30 sports is huge.”

Stay tuned to AllBucs for further coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' preseason updates, and other news and analysis. Follow along on social media at @SIBuccaneers on Twitter and Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sports Illustrated on Facebook.