Bucs place two defensive linemen on injured reserve

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have placed defensive lineman DaVonte Lambert and defensive tackle and seventh-round pick Stevie Tui’kolovatu on injured reserve, the team announced.

Both of them seemed like they were on track to make the roster and get a decent amount of playing time this year, but apparently injuries will stop that from happening—and further limit the Bucs’ defensive line depth, which isn’t amazing to begin with.

The Bucs also announced the release of longsnapper Andrew DePaola and defensive end George Johnson. DePaola’s release is a little surprising—he was re-signed just a few weeks ago after recovering from an injury, but the Bucs are going with veteran Garrison Sanborn instead of the man who snapped for them for four years.

As for Johnson, he was simply too expensive to hang on to. He might have been useful for depth, but not at a $2.25 million salary.