Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Fresh Faces Make Strong Impression in Preseason Finale

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will head into the 2015 regular season with the sweet taste of victory on their lips, wrapping up their slate of preseason games with a 22-17 road win over the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night.

With most of the starters resting for the regular season opener, Tampa Bay’s preseason finale was the last opportunity for players on the bottom half of the depth chart to make their case for a spot on the team’s final 53-man roster.

For quite a few of Tampa Bay’s newest acquisitions, it was a night full of positive impressions.

One of the key roster battles heading into Thursday night’s game was at the bottom of the depth chart at receiver, where a handful of rookies have been jockeying for position throughout training camp. Based on the performances in the preseason finale from Adam Humphries, Rannell Hall and Donteea Dye, Tampa Bay’s decision-makers will have some tough choices on their hands.

Humphries caught four passes for 62 yards and a touchdown, showing off all the skills the Bucs are looking for in a successful slot receiver. Despite his smaller frame, the Clemson product showed the willingness to make tough catches over the middle with great arm extension and focus.

A top performer at the Senior Bowl from nearby UCF, Hall grabbed four passes for 63 yards, including multiple catches that were contested in tight coverage. He showed versatility in being able to make catches in traffic, reel in passes that were off target and also beat defenders on jump balls down the field.

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Dye, a small-school standout from Heidelberg, caught two passes for 36 yards, showing off the wheels that make him arguably the fastest player currently on the Bucs roster.

With the first four receiver spots all but locked up by Mike Evans, Vincent Jackson, Louis Murphy and Russell Shepard, it likely leaves only two spots for rookie draft picks Kenny Bell and Kaelin Clay as well as Humphries, Hall and Dye to fight over. Bell has missed the last two games with an injury, while Clay hasn’t exactly set the world on fire as a receiver or a return man this preseason.

There’s an outside chance Bell could end up on the injured reserve-designated to return list, which would open up an additional roster spot for the first chunk of the season in order to keep one of the other rookie pass-catchers.

Another newcomer who literally put his best foot forward Thursday night was kicker Kyle Brindza, who was brought in via a trade with the Detroit Lions earlier in the week to push Patrick Murray and Connor Barth for the starting job.

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Brindza wasted no time making an emphatic statement, nailing field goals of 57 and 55 yards, with room to spare, and consistently booting his kickoffs into the opposing end zone. He hasn’t even been on the roster a full week, but the Notre Dame product may have just stolen the kicking competition in a single performance.

Brindza wasn’t the only new addition to make a big impact in the kicking game, as punter Jake Schum continued his strong preseason that led to veteran Michael Koenen being released earlier in the week. Schum averaged just shy of 42 yards on his seven punts, landing two inside the 20-yard line. He should easily lock up the starting job heading into the regular season.

On defense, waiver-wire pickup Khaseem Greene did his best to sway the opinions of the coaching staff with an impressive 98-yard interception return for a touchdown. Despite the diving effort and fantastic return for the score, however, the Bucs have already made the decision to waive the former Chicago Bears linebacker, per Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times.

One fresh face who made news for the Bucs during Thursday night’s game didn’t play a single down, as general manager Jason Licht announced during the television broadcast that the team had agreed to terms with free-agent cornerback Tim Jennings.

Jennings had visited with the Bucs on Tuesday, but left One Buc Place without agreeing to a contract. Released earlier in the week by the Chicago Bears, Jennings brings a veteran presence and plenty of experience in the Tampa 2 scheme to a Bucs defense that is looking to make a big improvement from last year’s body of work.

The Bucs also got key contributions from some familiar faces against the Dolphins, led by Keith Tandy’s three takeaways as he tries to fight off Chris Conte for the team’s final safety spot.

The biggest negative for Tampa Bay in this game came in the form of multiple injuries along the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Offensive lineman Garrett Gilkey and defensive end Larry English were both taken off the field on a cart due to knee injuries, which won’t help their campaigns to make the final roster.

The final preseason game is meant to be an audition tape for bubble players, and many of Tampa Bay’s fringe guys made a strong statement as final roster cuts loom this weekend. For a team severely lacking in depth last season, the tough decisions that lie ahead for the Bucs are a welcome problem to have.

Luke Easterling is a featured columnist covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and NFL draft for Bleacher Report. He is also a senior NFL draft analyst for Draft Breakdown. Follow him on Twitter @Luke Easterling.