The Tampa Bay Buccaneers began the process of reducing their roster to the regular-season limit with four moves on Friday, a day before the deadline. The first round of maneuvers almost exclusively impacts the defensive line.
The Buccaneers placed two young linemen, DaVonte Lambert and Stevie Tu'ikolovatu, on injured reserve and released defensive end George Johnson. The fourth move was the release of long-snapper Andrew DePaola. That puts the roster at 86 heading into the weekend; it must be trimmed to 53 by 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday. (The Buccaneers also have a 91st player in safety Eric Nzeocha, but he is an international exception who will spend the season on the practice squad.