Despite leading the team in sacks and, for a time, leading the NFL in preseason sacks George Johnson was not claimed and has been signed to the Bucs' practice squad, so reports Anwar Richardson. To make room for the defensive end, the Bucs released tight end Daniel Hardy.
This makes for two surprises in one move: I'm surprised no one claimed George Johnson, who looked pretty good in preseason, and I'm even more surprised that the Bucs chose to release Daniel Hardy instead of Collin Franklin. While Hardy isn't much of a blocker, he looked pretty good in a receiving role. Meanwhile, Collin Franklin looked worse than Nathan Overbay or Ryan Purvis in preseason, both of whom were cut.
In addition to these roster moves, the Bucs seem to have made Preston Parker their main kick and punt returner over Micheal Spurlock. This move is, again, a surprise. The Bucs have been experimenting with different return men throughout preseason, but Spurlock was never given a chance to compete with them. In addition to that, Spurlock looked very good on kick returns last season, although he was less than spectacular on punt returns.