As the Bucs prepare to head out of town and relocate ahead of Hurricane Milton, they also announced some roster moves on Monday afternoon.
If Tampa Bay has not battled enough injuries, they will be placing outside linebacker Markees Watts on injured reserve and wide receiver Cody Thompson on the practice squad injured list.
To take Thompson’s spot, the team will be re-signing undrafted rookie wide receiver Tanner Knue to the practice squad.
OLB Markees Watts Is The Bucs’ Latest Defensive Injury
It is a tough blow for Markees Watts, one of Pewter Report’s featured 2024 Training Camp Diaries. Watts was not known to have suffered an injury before today’s move, and at this time, no corresponding move has been made to sign someone else to the 53-man roster.
Watts only played 10 defensive snaps across the Bucs’ first five games this season, not recording a single statistic. He made the roster out of the preseason for his special teams acumen and played 67 snaps, or 50%, on Thomas McGaughey’s unit. The team will presumably look to add another contributor there, and may not have to look far.
As it stands now, the outside linebacker depth chart is now Yaya Diaby, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Anthony Nelson, Chris Braswell, and Jose Ramirez. Ramirez was active for his first NFL game Thursday night against the Falcons, receiving one snap on special teams. He may be the guy the team goes to going forward.
Tanner Knue Returns To Provide Bucs WR Depth
Cody Thompson quickly heads to the practice squad injured list after being elevated to the active roster in Week 5. Thompson saw some run and even had a kick return for 21 yards, but now his spot will go to Tanner Knue. Knue did not make the team this offseason but has found his way back to the organization. The 5-foot-11, 178-pound wide receiver will add some more depth to a position that has already needed it.
Rookie Jalen McMillan has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury, while second-year wide receiver Trey Palmer suffered a concussion and left the Eagles game. Neither played against the Falcons, but both are expected to return soon.
Until then, Knue is on standby if the team needs an extra set of hands. He and Ryan Miller are now the two current wide receivers on the practice squad after Thompson’s placement on the injury list and Sterling Shepard’s signing to the active roster last week.
With that move, Shepard joined Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and undrafted rookie Kameron Johnson as the team’s healthy wide receivers. The Bucs will hope they receive good injury news before another tough divisional game on Sunday afternoon against the Saints.
