Meaningful football is right around the corner. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers must have the roster trimmed down to 53 by September first at 4:00pm. Before they do, here are my predictions on who is in and who is out.

@Ren_Daxt from The Pewtercast and myself had a really fun discussion on who makes the Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster. We both agreed on that there are really only five spots on the roster that are up for grabs.

2018 Tampa Bay Buccaneers:  Offense

Quarterbacks:

Ryan Fitzpatrick

Ryan Griffin

Analysis: With Jameis Winston serving a three game suspension he will initially not be on the 53 man roster. He can resume football activities with the team starting September 25, 2018. The question will then be will the Buccaneers keep three quarterbacks on the roster? Ren and I say yes. There is no doubt in my mind that Winston will be the starting quarterback week four against the Chicago Bears.

Running Backs:

Peyton Barber

Ronald Jones II

Jacquizz Rodgers

Shaun Wilson

Analysis: Shaun Wilson is less of a surprise at this point. Wilson is young, inexpensive and has more upside than Charles Sims. Sims has been been unimpressive besides 2015. He is not a good runner between the tackles and spends more time running east to west rather than north and south. Sims is now on injured reserve, but I truly believed Wilson would have made the roster over Sims regardless. Rodgers is sticking around for his role as a third down back and can be used in short yardage situations. Ren also pointed out that if Barber goes down with an injury Rodgers will take over the starting running back duties.

Wide Receivers:

Mike Evans

Desean Jackson

Adam Humphries

Chris Godwin

Justin Watson

Bobo Wilson

Analysis: I am going to go out on a limb here and say that the Buccaneers will keep six wide receivers. Bobo Wilson makes the roster for his speed and playmaking ability. He is much improved from a year ago. I had Sergio Bailey making the roster before he fractured his ankle during pre-game warmups. Ren and I had a nice discussion on who would make the 6^th spot he says Freddie Martino and brought up good points on why he would stick around. In the end, I went with Bobo Wilson and Justin Watson for the last two spots.

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Tight Ends:

O.J. Howard

Cameron Brate

Alan Cross

Antony Auclair

Analysis: This was one of the easier positions to nail down both Ren and I agreed that these will be the four. Tanner Hudson and Matt Weiser haven’t shown enough in preseason to push for a spot. Antony Auclair has improved in all facets of his game and it seems like Dirk Koetter loves Alan Cross.

Offensive Lineman

Donovan Smith

Ali Marpet

Ryan Jensen

Caleb Bennenoch

Demar Dotson

Alex Cappa

Evan-Smith

Leonard Wester

Mike Liedtke

Brad Seaton

Analysis: I have 10 offensive lineman making the roster. The first 7 are locks. The next three in my opinion will make the roster. Brad Seaton and Mike Liedtke played extremely well and played a lot due to injuries. Leonard Wester makes the roster because he has experience with this team and offense. Ren and I disagreed on possibly Cole Gardner or Cole Boozer making the team over Seaton. My thoughts are that both Cole Gardner and Cole Boozer have had injuries which have held them back. Availability is key, and neither have been all that available.