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On the top of the depth chart at safety, the Bucs boast a duo that has the potential to be a top duo in the league between former All-Pro Antoine Winfield Jr. and promising second year player Tykee Smith, who is likely to play his natural position this season after playing in the nickel.
What lies behind for the Bucs at safety after Winfield and Smith is where the real intrigue begins. It’s impossible to fill up every position each offseason and Tampa Bay certainly is good to go with their starters, however the Bucs are rolling into this season with backup depth at safety that is all undrafted free agents.
Bucs FS Antoine Winfield Jr., DB Tykee Smith and CB Jamel Dean – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Bucs Have Many UDFAs For Backup Safeties
Tampa Bay has typically excelled when it comes to finding undrafted free agents that will make an impact on the team. Christian Izien is a shining example of that going into his third year. Izien was a starter at the nickel in 2023, recording two interceptions on the season. He relinquished his role in 2024 to Smith and became a jack of all trades for Tampa Bay.
Izien started at safety when injuries occurred, moved back to nickel because of the same circumstance, and even wound up playing at corner in the season opener when an emergency situation came about. Izien has been a staple of hustle and effort that every defense can use. No spot is guaranteed on this team in the 2025 season, but the third-year player out of Rutgers seems like his spot is safe on the roster.
Bucs DB Christian Izien – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
The next most tenured undrafted free agent Buc is Kaevon Merriweather, who has been with the Bucs since 2023 although had a brief stop with the Lions last November before going back to the Bucs. Merriweather was able to start the last four games of the regular season and had less than desired results. None of his overall PFF defensive grades surpassed 69, including the playoff loss to Washington.
Merriweather will be fighting for a roster spot along with Rashad Wisdom and Marcus Banks, who each came in last year and were on the practice squad. Can one of them emerge this training camp?
Bucs Have Two Important Signees
Also in the mix are two more safeties that were signed as undrafted free agents after this year’s draft. One is former Marshall safety J.J. Roberts, who was given a contract on the higher side of payouts for undrafted free agents. The Bucs’ front office including general manager Jason Licht and vice president of player personnel Mike Biehl are each very excited about.
The other safety is a polarizing figure that has brought a lot of positive energy to Tampa Bay, and that’s Shilo Sanders out of Colorado, the son of Hall of Fame corner and Colorado head coach, Deion Sanders. A good impression has been made by Sanders with his attitude, plus he’s garnered a lot of headlines for the Bucs on several occasions. He’ll have an opportunity to compete for the practice squad with several others that were mentioned.
Bucs S Shilo Sanders – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Todd Bowles Comments On Safety Room
But is this safety group good enough? Bucs head coach Todd Bowles weighed in on his options at the position.
“I think we’re getting a lot of depth from that standpoint with [Rashad] Wisdom coming into his second year and making some plays,” Bowles said. But, then you’ve got J.J. [Roberts] and you’ve got Shilo [Sanders] also coming along and learning the system and starting to get more comfortable and make some plays back there, as well.
Then you’ve got ‘Izzy’ (Christian Izien) there and you’ve got [Antoine] Winfield Jr. obviously and you’ve got Tykee [Smith] sitting there and you’ve got [Kaevon] Merriweather sitting there. We’ve got a lot of guys. That’s going to be one of the more heavily competitive spots once training camp starts.”
Bucs HC Todd Bowles and GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Whether it’s the safety position or any other on Tampa Bay’s roster, the Bucs done a stellar job in building most of their team through home grown talent. It gives them a better understanding on what they’re going to get out of everyone.
“When you have guys that have [grown] in the system, that you kind of get from round one, you probably spend a little more time with them because they have been here and the other guys knew how to play,” Bowles said. “I don’t think it matters or gives us an advantage, it just helps us know we’re picking good players that we can play with.”
