Former Oklahoma star is quietly on the Buccaneers' chopping block

After an offseason of making some pretty key additions to the roster, now comes the time for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to start making some tough decisions. Trimming down the roster to the final 53 players won’t need to happen until the end of August, but things are already getting tight at certain positions.

Sterling Shepard, Baker Mayfield’s old teammate from their days together at Oklahoma, seems to be nearer to the chopping block than most.

Wide receiver might be the most competitive room the Bucs have. Tampa Bay re-signed Chris Godwin in free agency but added Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson in the draft, something that will undoubtedly edge a few veterans off the roster.

That’s bad news for Shepard, who found himself playing meaningful snaps for the Bucs last year but didn’t do a to stand out enough to guarantee a roster spot. It’s not a challenge that is exclusive to him, but if there’s a place to start making cuts it seems the line starts behind Shepard.

Buccaneers wide receiver room will be the biggest battle at training camp

Shepard might be at the top of the list of potential cuts at wide reciever, but he’s hardly alone. Last year the Bucs carried five recievers on the 53-man roster heading into the season, and right now there are already four spots spoken for.

• WR1: Mike Evans
• WR2: Chris Godwin
• WR3: Emeka Egbuka
• WR4: Jalen McMillan

That’s not including Trey Palmer who is in the driver’s seat for that fifth and final roster spot. If Tampa Bay not carries five recievers like it did last year, then guys like Kam Johnson will also find themselves on the wrong side of roster cuts.

Tez Johnson is the player to watch throughout training camp. The Bucs already love him and he fills the role of kick returner which could land him a roster spot over Johnson. It could be something that bumps Palmer off the roster too, but that’s something we won’t truly learn until training camp.

In the meantime, Shepard could be an east cut to make before then, but that wouldn’t mean his time with the team is over. He started last year on the Bucs practice squad, and cutting him from the active roster could simply mean he sticks around and goes back to where his journey with the team started.