Tampa Bay waived injured offensive tackle Chidi Okeke and placed kicker Ryan Succop on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Tuesday, the team announced. In addition, running back Troymaine Pope reverted to the team's injured reserve after being waived on Sunday.
The Buccaneers roster now stands at 80 players. Tampa Bay met the 80-man deadline by waiving five players on Sunday, but had bumped up to 81 with the addition of offensive tackle Jonathan Hubbard on Monday.
Head coach Bruce Arians shared on Tuesday that Succop had tested positive for COVID-19 after he went to dinner with members of the Tennessee Titans last week. Succop, who is vaccinated, will not play in Tampa Bay's preseason game against the Houston Texans on Saturday.
This will provide undrafted rookie kicker Jose Borregales an opportunity to show Tampa Bay's coaching staff, or other NFL staff in need of help at kicker, what he's got after putting together a solid training camp. The Buccaneers signed Succop to a three-year contract extension this offseason, meaning Borregales would need to put together a spectacular showing to threaten the veteran's job security.
Pope signed with the Buccaneers in May as organized training activities and minicamp. Okeke is one of several offensive tackles that signed with Tampa Bay over the past month as the team has dealt with injuries across its offensive line depth.
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