Heading into the weekend, the Buccaneers waived wide receiver Deven Thompkins with injury designation after two seasons as their primary kick returner. He played in 22 games for Tampa Bay, catching as many passes with a single touchdown.
Thompkins was an undrafted free agent after the 2022 Draft, coming out of Utah State. He has been a dynamic special teams mainstay, becoming the primary return man for the Bucs. Since 2022, Thompkins has returned 31 punts for an average of 9.5 yards each and averaged 21.1 yards on 28 kickoff returns.
Two weeks through their three weeks of OTA practice, this opens up a single slot on the 91 man maximum roster, which GM Jason Licht will surely look to fill in the coming weeks. It’s been speculated that rookie receiver Jalen McMillan, who notably took reps fielding kicks and punts during OTAs, will be the new kickoff and punt returner but there’s no confirmation as of yet.
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