Bucs waive injured receiver Cyril Grayson to make room for Genard Avery
TAMPA — Less than eight months after his game-winning touchdown catch against the Jets, injured Bucs wide receiver Cyril Grayson has been waived to make room for newly signed linebacker Genard Avery.
The team, which will reach an injury settlement with Grayson, announced the move prior to its mid-morning practice Thursday. Avery, brought in to help replenish depth after backup Cam Gill (Lisfranc injury) recently went on injured reserve, started 12 games for the Eagles last year.
A national-champion sprinter at LSU who didn’t play college football, Grayson spent time on a handful of NFL practice squads before landing with the Bucs in 2019. He had one NFL catch before being thrust into action due to myriad injuries last season and finished with 10 receptions, including two surreal touchdowns.
The first came in a Halloween-night game in New Orleans (his hometown), where his 50-yard scoring catch from Tom Brady late in the fourth quarter gave the Bucs a one-point lead they would squander. Then on Jan. 2, shortly after Antonio Brown walked off the MetLife Stadium sideline shirtless, Grayson snagged a 38-yard touchdown throw from Brady with 15 seconds remaining to clinch a 28-24 triumph.
Grayson’s departure leaves five receivers — including veterans Scotty Miller and Breshad Perriman — vying for the last one or two spots on the final roster’s depth chart. Undrafted rookies Kaylon Geiger, Deven Thompkins and Jerreth Sterns also remain in contention.
“It’s always difficult that time of year, because someone is getting cut, right?” offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich said Wednesday. “People start getting cut. Me being a former player, me being cut before, that’s just a difficult time for all of us, but it’s just the nature of the business.”
Avery, a fifth-round pick of the Browns in 2018, has totaled 7½ sacks over parts of four NFL seasons. He had a career-best 43 tackles (four for loss) last season for the Eagles, who acquired him during the 2019 trade deadline. He signed a one-year deal with the Steelers in March but was released on Tuesday.
“He’s a good pass rusher and he’s a good (special) teams player,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said. “So we thought it was value to have him, and rather than look for somebody like that in the middle of the season in case someone gets hurt, we thought there would be value in adding him right now.”
Injury update
Bowles’ announcement Thursday that all healthy Bucs will play in Saturday’s preseason finale at Indianapolis poses a mild dilemma for the secondary, besieged by injuries in recent days.
Rookie cornerback Zyon McCollum remained sidelined during Thursday’s practice with a hamstring injury and is considered day-to-day, Bowles said. Also sitting out was cornerback Rashard Robinson (unspecified) and safety/cornerback Logan Ryan (unspecified), who has been limited recently. Additionally, safety Keanu Neal (arm) is not expected to play Saturday.
If all sit out against the Colts, the Bucs still could have up to 11 defensive backs suited up, though the starters likely won’t play more than a few series.
“We’ll have enough bodies,” Bowles said. “We’ve got guys that we’ve cross-trained in the spring. We’ll have enough bodies to get through the game.”
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