Two Roster Spots Are Already on the Line Before Bucs Training Camp Starts

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers walked into the offseason with a clear to-do list. They missed the playoffs in 2025. The NFC South went to somebody else. So they spent the spring loading up, and now the roster is stacked enough that a few familiar faces are in real trouble.

Training camp opens July 29 with the first full team practice. By the end of August, the Bucs have to cut down to 53 players. That means some guys who suited up last season won’t be around when the 2026 regular season kicks off. Here’s who should be nervous.

Kameron Johnson’s special teams edge is slipping

Johnson carved out a role as a return man in 2025, and it wasn’t nothing. He averaged 17.1 yards per punt return and 25.4 per kick return, which is solid work. The problem is he hasn’t done anything as a receiver. Four catches in two seasons. One touchdown. That’s not enough to keep a roster spot if somebody else can handle the returns.

Enter Kenneth Gainwell. The Bucs signed him to back up Bucky Irving, but Gainwell also returned kicks for Pittsburgh last season and did it well. 633 yards on 26 returns. If Tampa has to choose between a backup running back who can also return kicks and a pure returner who can’t play receiver, the math is not in Johnson’s favor.

Then there’s the receiver room itself. Tampa used a third-round pick on Ted Hurst III, and the depth chart already has Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin, Jalen McMillan, and Tez Johnson. That’s five guys ahead of him. Johnson basically needs the Bucs to keep six wideouts, and even then he’d have to win the job in camp.

Devin Culp is buried at tight end

The Bucs have Cade Otton, who is fine. Payne Durham is a reliable backup. Ko Kieft is coming back from a broken leg, and the team drafted Bauer Sharp in the sixth round. That’s four tight ends ahead of Culp, assuming Kieft is healthy at some point.

Culp has six catches in two years. He was supposed to be a pass-catching threat coming out of college, but it hasn’t shown up. He’s still on his rookie deal, which helps his case a little, but not much. His best shot is to beat out Sharp for the No. 4 spot and hope Kieft starts the season on some kind of injured list. That’s a lot of ifs.

Chris Braswell and David Walker might be fighting for one chair

This is the most interesting camp battle nobody is talking about. The Bucs needed edge rushers badly, so they signed Al-Quadin Muhammad off an 11-sack season in Detroit and drafted Rueben Bain Jr. in the first round. Bain had 15.5 sacks at Miami. He’s the real deal.

That puts Yaya Diaby, Anthony Nelson, Muhammad, and Bain as the top four. After that, there’s probably room for one more. Chris Braswell was a second-round pick in 2024 and has done almost nothing: 48 tackles, 2.5 sacks. David Walker tore his ACL in training camp last year and hasn’t played a real snap. Both guys need to show something fast.

Braswell has the draft capital edge, but that only buys you so much time. Walker just needs to prove he can stay on the field and make a play. One of them might make it. Both of them probably won’t. Training camp will sort that out.