Preseason Week 2 Fantasy Football Game Recap: Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New York Jets

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers try to replace Russell Gage: Four wide receivers who could theoretically win the third receiver spot rotated in with the starters.

• Zonovan Knight is fighting for his roster spot: Knight seems like the odd man out of the New York Jets‘ running back competition.

• Jason Brownlee could make the Jets roster: The undrafted rookie played with the starters in the first half and made a few nice plays, which could be enough to reach WR6 on the roster.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ New York Jets

The battle for the Bucs' WR3 spot: Russell Gage suffered a season-ending injury during a joint practice at the New York Jets' facility on Wednesday, opening a four-player battle in Tampa Bay.

• Mike Evans and Chris Godwin sat out both last week and this week.
• Gage started Week 1 with 2022 undrafted player Deven Thompkins.
• 2022 undrafted receiver Kaylon Geiger was the third wide receiver in that game, followed by 2023 sixth-round rookie Trey Palmer and veteran David Moore.
• Greiger and Moore started against the Jets, with Thompkins playing in three-receiver sets.
• Palmer started rotating in during the second drive.
• Palmer produced the most notable play, a 33-yard touchdown to end the second quarter. It was the only touchdown by either team in the half.
• The rookie seems to be the favorite to win the job, given the draft capital spent on him. However, he’s clearly not there yet, considering his absence during the first drive.
• It’s also possible the Buccaneers will look for someone not currently on the roster to take Gage’s place.

Zonovan Knight fights for his roster spot: Knight started the game while Breece Hall, Dalvin Cook and Michael Carter all had the night off.

• The Jets have five running backs with a realistic shot at making the roster, but it might not make sense for them to keep all five.
• Hall's and Cook’s spots are locked in, while Israel Abanikanda will likely keep a roster spot after getting drafted in the fifth round.
• This makes it seem like Carter and Knight are fighting for one roster spot.
• Tonight was Knight's chance to show he deserves the job, but he gained only 33 yards on eight carries and lost a fumble.
• This is the second preseason game Carter got to sit out. If the Jets were considering letting him go, they likely would let him fight for his job or have already cut him.
• Knight might be the one on the way out, although they certainly would bring him back to the practice squad if no one else picks him up.
• Abanikanda needed help getting off the field in the fourth quarter. If his injury is serious, that would also impact Knight’s odds of making the roster.

Miscellaneous Notes

• Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Chase Edmonds are in a competition to take the Bucs' backup running back spot behind Rachaad White. White was among the starters who had the night off, while Edmonds missed this game with an injury, so we are no closer to knowing the backup running back.
• The Jets started Allen Lazard and Mecole Hardman Jr., with several wide receivers taking the night off. It was good to see they are willing to have Hardman play in two-receiver sets.
• Jason Brownlee is an undrafted rookie who started the week ninth on the Jets' depth chart, but he was the third receiver in 11 personnel in the first quarter. This means he is in contention for the sixth wide receiver spot or could be the favorite at this point. He caught three passes for 39 yards in the first half to lead the Jets in receiving yards.
• The Jets continued to use both Tyler Conklin and C.J. Uzomah with the starters, which meant Uzomah took pass routes away from Conklin. They are both tight ends to avoid in fantasy.

Table Notes

• Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.

• Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.

• Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.