Monday afternoon, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers released their first depth chart of the season, in anticipation of their preseason game this Friday. While there has been much speculation on what the depth chart would look like, there are few big surprises in this release.
For the most part, this roster looks very similar to last year, with new additions slotting in where you would expect them. Mason Foster is listed as the starting middle linebacker, and it seems the Bucs really want to give him the chance to win that position. Adrian Clayborn is slotting in as a first-string player, while Da'Quan Bowers is listed as a second-string option at defensive end for now. I imagine that changes going forward, with Bowers leapfrogging to a first-string position by the end of camp.
For a more complete analysis of the depth chart, see Sander's article over at Bucs Nation. You can find the full depth chart below:
Offense
| Position | First-string | Second-string | Third-string | Other |
| WR | Mike Williams | Sammie Stroughter | Micheal Spurlock |
Ed Gant |
| LT | Donald Penn | Demar Dotson | Cory Brandon | |
| LG | Ted Larsen | Brandon Carter | Marc Dile | |
| C | Jeff Faine | Jeremy Zuttah | Matt Allen | |
| RG | Davin Joseph | Derek Hardman | Thomas Claiborne | |
| RT | Jeremy Trueblood | James Lee | Will Barker | |
| TE | Kellen Winslow | Luke Stocker | Daniel Hardy | Ryan Purvis Nathan Overbay Jose Cruz |
| WR | Arrelious Benn | Dezmon Briscoe | Preston Parker |
Jock Sanders Detron Lewis |
| QB | Josh Freeman | Josh Johnson | Rudy Carpenter |
Mike Coughlin Jonathan Crompton |
| RB | LeGarrette Blount | Kregg Lumpkin | Allen Bradford |
Mossis Madu Armando Allen |
| FB | Earnest Graham | Erik Lorig | Rendrick Taylor | Nick Reveiz |
Defense
| Position | First-string | Second-string | Third-string | Other |
| LDE | Michael Bennett | Da'Quan Bowers | Kyle Moore | Alex Magee |
| DT | Gerald McCoy | Frank Okam | E.J. Wilson | |
| DT | Roy Miller | Brian Price | Al Woods | |
| RDE | Adrian Clayborn | Tim Crowder | George Johnson | Brandon Gilbeaux |
| SLB | Quincy Black | Dekoda Watson | Brandon Heath | |
| MLB | Mason Foster | Tyrone McKenzie | Derrell Smith | |
| WLB | Geno Hayes | Adam Hayward | Simoni Lawrence | Victor Aiyewa |
| LCB | Aqib Talib | Myron Lewis | DJ Johnson | Vince Anderson |
| RCB | Ronde Barber | E.J. Biggers | Anthony Gaitor | Elbert Mack |
| SS | Sean Jones | Corey Lynch | Dominique Harris | Devin Holland |
| FS | Cody Grimm | Larry Asante | Ahmad Black |
Special Teams
| Position | First-string | Second-string | Third-string |
| P | Michael Koenen | Robert Malone | |
| PK | Connor Barth | Jacob Rogers | |
| KO | Michael Koenen | Connor Barth | |
| H | Michael Koenen | Robert Malone | |
| LS | Christian Yount | ||
| PR | Micheal Spurlock | Preston Parker | Sammie Stroughter |
| KR | Micheal Spurlock | Preston Parker | Sammie Stroughter |
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