The Buccaneers have cut 25-year old RB/PR/KR Clifton Smith and 29-year old WR Reggie Brown.  Smith played in 20 games in his two years with the Bucs in which he carried the ball 12 times for 47 yards (3.9 ypc).  He also caught 6 passes for 28 yards (4.7 avg) for the Bucs.  But his main skill the Bucs took advantage of was his kick return ability.  Smith returned 67 kickoffs for 1,894 yards (28.3 avg) with 1 TD return and he also returned 46 punts for 556 yards (12.1 avg) with 1 TD return.  This was not a smart move for the Buccaneers as Smith often gave the offense good starting position.  Reggie Brown played in 4 pre-season games for the Bucs in which he caught 4 passes for 57 yards (14.3 avg).  He played in 14 games (2 starts) for the Eagles last season in which he caught 9 passes for 155 yards (17.2  avg).  I don’t think either of these moves make much sense for the Bucs.

27-year old WR Michael Clayton burst onto the scene for the Buccaneers in 2004 with a outstanding rookie season.  Clayton played in 16 games (13 starts) in 2004 for the Bucs and he caught 80 passes for 1,193 yards (14.9 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 30 yards (6.0 ypc) in 2004.  Clayton has fallen on hard times since then as he played in 13 games (11 starts) for the Bucs last season and he only caught 16 passes for 230 yards (14.4 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He finishes his career with the Buccaneers having played in 84 games (56 starts) in his six years and he has caught 221 passes for 2,936 yards (13.3 avg) with 10 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 18 times for 100 yards (5.6 ypc).  It was smart of the Bucs to cut Clayton loose as he looks like he was a one year wonder.

The Buccaneers have released 30-year old RB Derrick Ward.  Ward played in 14 games for the Bucs last season and he carried the ball 114 times for 409 yards (3.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 20 passes for 150 yards (7.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs last season.  Kareem Huggins and Earnest Graham will likely see increased touches with Ward out of the picture.  I don’t think Ward will be unemployed too long.

The Buccaneers have released 31-year old DT Chris Hovan.  Hovan played in all 16 games for the Bucs last season and he finished up with 33 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and he had 1/2 a sack.  He played 5 seasons for the Bucs appearing in 79 games in which he made 220 tackles, he had 5 sacks and he defensed 4 passes.  Hovan’s release should come as no surprise to anyone who follows the Bucs after they drafted DTs Gerald McCoy and Brian Price over the weekend.

The Buccaneers have released 25-year old OG Arron Sears and 27-year old OG Shawn Murphy.  Sears missed all of last season due to him having some mental issues which is also what led the his release.  Sears was a former 2nd round pick of the Bucs (2007) and he played in 31 games (all starts) in his career with them.  Shawn Murphy only played in 1 game (0 starts) for the Bucs last season.  The Buccaneers won’t miss either of these guys as they didn’t give them anything at all last season.

The Buccaneers have released 26-year old punter Sam Paulescu.  Paulescu played in 5 games for the Bucs last season and he punted the ball 24 times for 1,022 yards (42.6 avg).  He had 5 touchbacks (20.8%) and he pinned the opposition inside their own 20-yard line 8 times (33.3%) last season for the Bucs.  When the Bucs drafted punter Brent Bowden in the sixth round of the NFL Draft you just had a feeling that it was a matter of time until Paulescu was cut loose.

The Buccaneers have released 29-year old fullback B.J. Askew.  Askew played in 5 games for the Bucs last season and he carried the ball 1 time for 0 yards (0.0 ypc).  He also caught 2 passes for 3 yards (1.5 avg) last season.  In 3 years with the Buccaneers, Askew played in 28 games in which he carried the ball 8 times for 14 yards (1.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 33 passes for 244 yards (7.4 avg) in his time with the Buccaneers.  This was just a case of the Buccaneers cutting a player they can easily replace.

The Buccaneers have released 33-year old punter Josh Bidwell.  Bidwell didn’t play last season for the Bucs due to injury.  Bidwell played six years with the Bucs in which he punted in 80 games.  Bidwell punted the ball 419 times for 18,426 yards (44.0 avg) for the Bucs.  He had 44 touchbacks with the Bucs (10.5%) and he pinned the opposition inside their own 20-yard line 124 times (29.6%).  The Buccaneers will be looking for a new punter in 2010.

The Bucs have released 34-year old punter Dirk Johnson.  Johnson played in 11 games for the Buccaneers last season and he punted the ball 62 times for 2,558 yards (41.3 avg).  Johnson only had 3 touchbacks (4.8%) and he pinned the opposition inside their own 20-yard line 16 times (25.8%).  The Buccaneers are looking to go in a different direction at punter in 2010.

The Buccaneers have released 29-year old CB Torrie Cox.  Cox played in 11 games for the Bucs last season and he made 21 tackles.  He played in 56 games in his career with the Bucs in which he made 79 tackles, defensed 5 passes, forced 1 fumble and he had 1 interception that he returned 55 yards for a TD.  Cox also returned 77 kickoffs for 1,758 yards (22.8 avg) for the Bucs.  The Buccaneers shouldn’t miss Cox at all.