Bucs Cut Big Wide Receiver

Sills’ release creates an opening at wide receiver on the roster. The Bucs could elevate Dean Patterson IV from the practice squad or sign an additional wide receiver in free agency. Odell Beckham Jr., 34, was just released by Minnesota on Tuesday and the Vikings had plans on re-signing him to their practice squad. Former UCF standout and Sanford, Fla. native Gabe Davis, 27, is also an available free agent.

Or the team could just stand pat with five receivers, as return specialist Kam Johnson is also on the active roster.

The Chiefs released edge rusher Jack Pyburn on Tuesday to make room on the roster for wide receiver Josh Downs, who was acquired in a trade with the Colts. Pyburn could make his way back to Tampa Bay if the Bucs wanted to go in a different direction with their open roster spot. Pyburn, who led the Bucs in sacks in the preseason with four, was a healthy scratch in all eight regular season games in Kansas City.

Bucs Wide Receiver Corps Has Been Unspectacular In 2026

Tampa Bay owns the NFL’s worst-ranked passing attack this year, averaging a feeble 141.9 yards per game through the air. Part of that lack of production can be attributed to missing starting quarterback Baker Mayfield for three games due to a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand.

Part of the lack of production in the passing game has to fall at the feet of new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, who was fired after two years as Atlanta’s play-caller. Wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, last year’s former first-round pick, has seen his production fall off a cliff since after the bye week in 2025 following a sensational start to his rookie season, too.

Egbuka missed a good deal of time during training camp and the preseason dealing with a turf toe injury he suffered in a joint practice with the Jets. Then he missed two games due to a foot injury before returning to action against the Bears on Sunday night. Egbuka caught three passes for 38 yards, including a 21-yard screen in which he was tracked down from behind by defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons. That is likely due to the fact that Egbuka’s foot is not fully healthy.

The Bucs parted ways with David Sills V on Tuesday, but he was a non-factor in the passing game anyway. Only four receivers have caught a pass this season, including Egbuka, Chris Godwin Jr., Tez Johnson and rookie Ted Hurst III, who was benched for dropping his only target in Sunday’s loss to the Bears. Hurst, this year’s third-round pick, only played one snap in Chicago, which is ridiculous considering how paltry the production has been among Tampa Bay’s wide receivers.

“We think he can help us,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said. “He got off to a bad start and we kind of went with some other guys and wanted to see what they could do.”

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Hurst has 4.47 speed and could help unlock the Bucs’ passing game with his big-play ability but he rarely gets targets. That’s an indictment on Robinson and this offensive coaching staff because Hurst needs on-field experience to develop. He’s faster than Godwin, healthier than Egbuka and has way more size than the 5-foot-10, 160-pound Johnson.

After receiving 17 targets and catching eight passes for 128 yards and a touchdown in the first four weeks of the season, Hurst has only been targeted nine times in the last five games, including zero targets at Dallas and only one target at Carolina, against Atlanta and at Chicago. He drew a 21-yard pass interference penalty against the Panthers on his lone target in Week 7 and nearly had a touchdown catch against the Falcons on his only target before having the ball punched out at the last second.

The rookie from Georgia State hauled in three catches for 40 yards on his six targets against Pittsburgh. Hurst needs to get more targets in order to get more experience, but this coaching staff doesn’t get it.

The Bucs still have Jalen McMillan, who is on injured reserve while recovering from a knee injury that occurred during training camp. But who knows when he’ll return this season and how effective he’ll be when and if he does.

Bowles revealed that McMillan underwent a procedure on his knee early in camp, but re-injured his knee against Minnesota on his lone target of the year after playing a handful of snaps the week prior in his return to action against Cleveland in Week 2.