Buccaneers WR Called ‘Lock’ to Make Practice Squad Despite Cut Prediction

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have difficult cut decisions to make at wide receiver this summer, and WR Sterling Shepard’s veteran status could be beneficial at the tail end of training camp and the preseason because it should allow the Bucs to retain an extra pass-catcher in his place.

“Sterling Shepard, I think, is a lock for the practice squad,” Pewter Report’s Matt Matera predicted on July 1, while hosting the “Pewter Report Podcast.”

“He pretty much said, like, I don’t want to play with anyone else but Baker [Mayfield],” Matera explained. “And let’s remember, he began on the practice squad last year, too. So, I think if you’re able to kind of keep [Shepard] on the practice squad, I don’t think other teams are going to pluck him the way that they would [2025 seventh-rounder] Tez Johnson, for sure, [or] even Trey Palmer to a degree.”

Matera and guest analyst James Yarcho also highlighted Kameron Johnson and Rakim Jarrett as two additional Buccaneers wide receivers who could make some noise before roster cuts.

Sterling Shepard Would Not Be Subject to Waivers If the Buccaneers Cut Him

To explain this situation further, Shepard qualifies as what the NFL refers to as a “vested veteran.”

According to Pro Football Network: “In the NFL, a player becomes a ‘vested’ veteran after accruing four seasons of experience. That status comes with notable benefits. For one, it allows a player to avoid the waiver wire prior to the trade deadline. When a vested veteran is cut from January to mid-October, they become free agents immediately after 4 p.m. ET on the day they are released.”

Due to this rule, Shepard would not be subject to waivers if he were cut by the Bucs at the 53-man roster deadline.

Tampa Bay could then simply re-sign Shepard to the practice squad, based on his connection with Mayfield, and elevate him up to three times before they eventually need to decide on promoting him back onto the active roster.

If the Bucs felt they needed Shepard’s experience early in the season, they could even choose to elevate him in Weeks 1-3, giving them an extra month (just about) to decide on their final WR cut.

Tez Johnson Labeled Early ‘Leader in the Clubhouse’ for Buccaneers’ 5th WR Role

During the aforementioned wide receiver discussion between Matera and Yarcho, the latter expressed that he feels Tez Johnson is the early “leader in the clubhouse” for the fifth WR role and returner position.

“Now, we have to see him actually [perform well on special teams],” Yarcho acknowledged, “but that’s kind of the hope, right?”

“Trey Palmer has not really been as effective as I think [head coach] Todd [Bowles] and [general manager] Jason [Licht] were hoping he would be in terms of special teams,” the Tampa Bay analyst went on. “And then, Kam Johnson, Rakim Jarrett… Again, this is why [wide receiver] is my number one battle in training camp to watch, because you mentioned the top four, and then I think you have Tez and Shepard mixed in there.”

Yarcho finished by pondering if the Buccaneers might keep seven wideouts at the roster cutdown, but they may not have to if they know they can sneak Shepard onto the practice squad. Which was Matera’s initial point.

“I like Trey, I just think they don’t draft Tez if they’re happy with what they’ve seen out of Trey Palmer,” Yarcho concluded, hinting that he could be the odd man out.