With a lot of depth at the position, Tampa will have some tough decisions to make

Training camp is underway for the Bucs and with that it is time to look at a significant training camp battle, the wide receiver room. With the recent signing of Julio Jones, it gives Tampa Bay tremendous depth but at the same time it could make the futures of some of the young receivers murky.

Looking at the roster, there are four names that stand out as guys who could be among the Bucs roster cuts this summer. Scotty Miller, Tyler Johnson, Breshad Perriman and Cyril Grayson could all be on the roster bubble during camp.

Some may ask why Jaelon Darden is not a part of that list and the answer is that Darden was a fourth round pick in 2021 and they traded up to get him. Darden also has a clear role on the team as a kick/punt returner and while he struggled in his rookie year, I highly doubt the team gives up on him after just one year.

Breshad Perriman is the veteran of this listed group, but it is clear the coaching staff and front office really like him as they have signed him three separate times since the 2019 offseason so his spot could be safe as the fifth receiver on the depth chart. A guy like Cyril Grayson could maybe be snuck onto the practice squad, but would the Bucs want to risk potentially losing him that way? Some tough decisions need to be made by Jason Licht.

Now onto the two biggest names, those being Scotty Miller and Tyler Johnson. Both players were thought to be key pieces of the future after the 2020 season where Miller flashed his elite speed and Johnson made one of the most clutch catches of the Bucs’ playoff run against New Orleans.

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Fast forward to 2022 and one, if not both could be on the outs after a disappointing 2021 season. Miller has not been able to prove he is anything more than a deep threat receiver that can’t make consistent tough catches and Johnson failed to capitalize on a great opportunity he had when Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown were no longer in the picture late in the season. Both players need to have good camps and prove that they deserve to stick around.

The most likely outcome could very well be the Bucs keeping six receivers, saying goodbye to Miller and Johnson while trying to put Grayson on the practice squad. All of these players are good ones, and it will be tough for the Bucs to have to cut some of these guys loose, but that is the price teams have to be willing to pay to have such great depth at the receiver position.

This camp will be fascinating to see how it plays out with an interesting group of notable players who the Bucs will likely have to part ways with sooner rather than later.