Versatile OL Nick Leverett 'Fighting Every Day' to Make Buccaneers Roster

As Tampa Bay continues to evaluate and make decisions about its offensive line depth, one player has consistently stood out as he aims to avoid being on the wrong side of roster cutdowns.

Nick Leverett, a second-year player out of Rice following a transfer from North Carolina Central, has collected a lot of respect from head coach Bruce Arians and teammates throughout the Buccaneers' preseason. 

Leverett was a member of Tampa Bay's practice squad for the majority of his rookie season after going undrafted but was cut prior to the Super Bowl, leaving the 24-year-old with plenty to prove.

He's proved plenty thus far. The Bucs have dealt with injuries across the offensive line which has led Leverett to move from tackle, where he played last year, to guard and center in practice and preseason games.

“It’s been nothing but opportunities for me. I actually played four out of five [positions] in college," Leverett told media on Tuesday. "I’m definitely grateful for it and being able to just go out and show these coaches I can play multiple positions with my versatility.”

That versatility led Leverett to start at center for the Buccaneers against the Tennessee Titans this past Sunday, marking his first game at the position, ever. He was on the field for all 63 snaps, a week removed from 36 snaps at left tackle and another 20 at left guard. 

Leverett's performance at the new position graded out better than his preseason week one showing, which earned him recognition from the head coach. According to Pro Football Focus, Leverett allowed just one quarterback pressure against the Titans after giving up four versus the Bengals.

"I think the top three guys – [Aaron] Stinnie, Josh Wells and Nick all showed what they could do," Arians said on Sunday, after the Tennessee game. 

"It's a great thing to be that position-flexible, especially if you want to dress on Sunday," Arians continued. "One thing about Nick, he's a tremendous effort player, a very smart player. Yeah, if you can play five positions you've got a great chance to dress on Sundays."

Tampa Bay is comfortable with Stinnie and Wells manning the backup roles at guard and tackle, respectively. The Bucs also selected a center in the third round this summer in Robert Hainsey, meaning Leverett is fighting for a ninth spot on the line should the Buccaneers intend to hold onto that many linemen in 2021. Last year, the Bucs rostered nine linemen for the majority of the season before decreasing that number to eight at the end of the year.

So far, Leverett has survived two trimdowns as the roster has gone from 90 to 80 players over the past two weeks. By Tuesday, each franchise will have to cut 27 players to get to the 53-man regular season roster, and Leverett is hoping that his experience on cutdown day won't be the same as last year's.

“I’m fighting. I’m fighting every day. I want to make the team," Leverett said. "I told my coach at the beginning of camp, my aspirations for this game [are] high. I want to be a starter one day. I want to be an All-Pro guy. I want to be in the Hall of Fame. I have so many high aspirations for this game. I’m not letting my foot off the gas by any means."