Buccaneers
Bucs HC Todd Bowles said the team had to make the tough decision to cut WR Tyler Johnson due to a crowded receiving room and the fact that Johnson doesn’t contribute on special teams.
“That was tough,” Bowles said, via Bucs Wire. “Again, we have a lot of receivers and when you get down to a fifth and sixth receiver – Jaelon [Darden] returns punts and kicks, [and] Tyler [Johnson] was the sixth receiver to dress on Sundays. You’ve got to be able to play special teams and contribute. [He is] a great pass receiver, very good catcher – he can catch the ball – [he’s] a very good player, but no special teams value. Once you get down past the top four and five, you’ve got to have more value then just catching the football because you won’t dress on Sundays,” Bowles continued. “You know, that was a big reason behind it. We felt ‘BP’ (Breshad Perriman) can do a lot of things on special teams, we feel Scotty [Miller] can do some things as well. So that’s what it came down to.”
Panthers
Regarding Panthers’ recently acquired WR Laviska Shenault, HC Matt Rhule said that they aren’t stressing Shenault to be the “number one guy” and praised his ability as a playmaker, runner, and blocker.
“Laviksa’s walking into a situation where he doesn’t have to be the number one guy right away,” Rhule said, via Darin Gantt of the team’s official site. “He just has to come in and learn some things. Because we have the other receivers, we don’t have a ton of pressure. But we know we need playmakers; we’re always going to look for playmakers. An added component of that is not just his ability to run the football, but he can be a really, really physical blocker, which is something that we want.”
Panthers QB Baker Mayfield pointed out that Shenault has a “really physical presence” and a lot of athleticism.
“Honestly, I was kind of shocked,” Mayfield said. “He’s a big dude. Really physical presence. He came out there, obviously, he’s learning on the fly for us right now, but I can relate to that. He did well today. He has a physical presence. Obviously his athleticism jumps off the tape. Seeing him in person is another thing. We’re happy to have him, and just see what he fits in with what he’s doing.”
Shenault is hopeful that he’ll be able to “take the top off” of defenses.
“Hopefully, I’m able to get in different positions and take the top off, because I’m very capable of doing so,” Shenault said. “I’m a hungry player. I’m a dog. I’ll get down and dirty. I’m a tough person. I love this game, love to score touchdowns, love to get the fans lit; that’s one of the biggest things.”
Saints
Saints HC Dennis Allen made a brief statement on S Marcus Maye‘s recent arrest on Thursday.
“We were made aware of it this morning and we’re still gathering all the information, so we’re not going to have a comment on it at this time until we get more information,” Allen said, per Nola.com’s Luke Johnson.
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