Raheem Morris will make his final evaluations tonight against Houston
Tampa Bay will travel to Houston Thursday night in the preseason finale, and Coach Raheem Morris–like all other head coaches in the NFL–will have plenty on his mind.
The fourth preseason game usually is a showcase for players that are fighting for roster spots on the final 53-man roster that needs to be finalized by Saturday afternoon.
Most of the starting and second-team positions are already set in stone, but players fighting it out for spots largely as special teams contributors will get the chance to show their stuff Thursday night.
Some prominent names from Bucs teams in years past may be in their final games with the team.
Wide Receiver Michael Clayton has struggled in the preseason and is listed third on the depth chart after being overtaken by rookie Mike Williams and Sammie Stroughter.
Morris said that the bottom line for him when the decisions are all finalized will be the skill of each individual player, noting that he it’s always tough to have to let players go because of the relationships that are formed.
“Every cut here is going to be based on skill,” Morris said. “It’s all based on skill and how we see the skill set. That’s what I told these guys in my team meeting – ‘Hopefully you go out there and make us wrong, and the decisions we make when we cut down to 53.’ Because you do care about all these guys and you have a compassion for all these guys. You form relationships with everybody on your football team, and not just the last 53 that you keep. All 80. You want those guys to go out and have success and play in this league for a long time.”