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The Bucs made a transaction a day before their preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills at Raymond James Stadium.
On Friday, Tampa Bay signed cornerback Tre Avery and waived/injured wide receiver Jaden Smith.
Smith was signed during Tampa Bay’s training camp when the team was experiencing depth issues at the position, but sustained an injury and in the second preseason game at Pittsburgh. The Bucs have since seen the return of Kam Johnson and Trey Palmer at practice and both are expected to play in the preseason finale against the Bills on Saturday night.
Those two will also share wide receiver snaps with rookies Tez Johnson and Garrett Greene, Jacob Harris and Ryan Miller versus Buffalo.
Bucs Have Depth Issues At Cornerback
Now it’s the cornerback position that has some depth issues in Tampa Bay. The Bucs won’t play starters Zyon McCollum and Jamel Dean, and second-round pick Benjamin Morrison is expected to miss his third preseason game due to a hamstring injury. Fellow rookie nickelback J.J. Roberts has already been placed on injured reserve and is out for the season.
Bucs CB Benjamin Morrison – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Cornerback and special teams ace Josh Hayes is also expected to miss the preseason finale and it’s uncertain if rookie Jacob Parrish, the team’s starting nickelback, will play on Saturday night versus the Bills. That would leave Kindle Vildor, Bryce Hall, Tyrek Funderburk, JayVian Farr and Roman Parodie as the only available cornerbacks, which is why the team signed a four-year veteran in Tre Avery (5-11, 185).
Tre Avery originally entered the NFL as a college free agent with the Tennessee Titans in 2022. He has appeared in 38 career games, with five starts, across three NFL seasons for the Titans (2022–24), recording 54 tackles (three for loss), 11 passes defensed and one fumble recovery.
Avery played collegiately at Rutgers University (2017–21) alongside Tampa Bay defensive back Christian Izien, appearing in 35 games and compiling 92 tackles (4.5 for loss), 17 passes defensed and four interceptions. He was named third-team All-Big Ten following the 2020 season. The Baltimore, Maryland, native will wear No. 30 for Tampa Bay.