Buccaneers Sit 19 Players, All Defensive Starters vs. Steelers

TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play without most of their top starters against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday in their first preseason game of the 2023 season. Quarterback Baker Mayfield will get the start for the Buccaneers, but he will be without a litany of players that would usually play with him on the first-team offense.

The 19 players listed as not playing are RB Rachaad White,  OLB Shaq Barrett, OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, WR Mike Evans, WR Chris Godwin, WR Rakim Jarrett, S Ryan Nea,l CB Carlton Davis, S Antoine Winfield, CB Jamel Dean, LB Devin White, OLB Charles Snowden, DT Vita Vea,  LB Lavonte David, C Ryan Jensen, G Matt Feiler, T Tristan Wirfs, DL Calijah Kancey, and DL Greg Gaines.

That means that Mayfield will be without his top two wide receivers, the starting running back, and three offensive linemen. The offensive starters that will play alongside him are TE Cade Otten, G Liam Eichenberg, T Luke Goedeke, and WR Russell Gage. All of the Buccaneers defensive starters will not play on Friday.

The temperatures in Tampa are in the upper 90s on Friday, and the heat index exceeding 115. Those highs will have passed when the Steelers take to the grass playing surface just before kickoff at 7 p.m. But it will still be hot. Weather.com forecasts the game-time temperature to be 93 degrees, with 58% humidity and a heat index of 105.

Alan Saunders contributed reporting from Tampa.