The Buccaneers have released safety Marcus Banks with an injury settlement Getty
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers still have a lot of work to do at training camp and with their preseason games before reaching the regular season. Before you know it, though, the front office will have to begin the process of trimming its roster down to 53 players, and in some regards, that has already begun.
Right now, the Bucs are fully focused on their second preseason contest, which will see them square off against the Kansas City Chiefs . However, the front office is already looking for ways to get rid of some players on the bottom of their depth chart, and that recently led to the team parting ways with safety Marcus Banks.
Banks didn't get selected in the 2024 NFL Draft after spending time with the Alabama Crimson Tide and Mississippi State Bulldogs in college, but the Buccaneers quickly scooped him up as an undrafted free agent. Over the past two years, Tampa Bay 's coaching staff has worked on developing Banks behind the scenes.
For the most part, Banks has spent his time with the Buccaneers on their practice squad. He appeared in three games last season, but he failed to record a single statistic of note, as most of his work came on special teams. Entering 2026, Banks found himself competing for a depth role in Tampa Bay's secondary once again.
That quest came to an end when Banks was placed on injured reserve, which meant his season was over before it ever truly started. While players could miss the entire year if they stick on injured reserve, though, many lower-level guys end up reaching injury settlements with their team, and that is what happened with Banks, as he has been waived , allowing him to immediately sign with any of the other 31 teams in the league.
"Marcus Banks, S: Waived from injured reserve with an injury settlement (TB)," @NFLActions shared in a post on X.
GettyThe Buccaneers have released safety Marcus Banks with an injury settlement
Even with a couple of years of experience under his belt in Tampa Bay, Banks always was going to face long odds to make the team's roster. Simply put, the Buccaneers are well-stocked at the safety position for the time being. Antoine Winfield Jr. is one of the best safeties in the league, and Tykee Smith is fresh off a breakout campaign in his second pro season. With guys like Ifeatu Melifonwu and Miles Killebrew behind them, there simply wasn't room for Banks.
The fact that he reached an injury settlement with the Buccaneers indicates that Banks believes he will be healthy enough to play again at some point this season. There's no guarantee that a team will try to sign him, but he has accrued enough experience behind the scenes that he could be a unique developmental option for a team in need of secondary help to take a flier on. And while it's tough to see Banks go, he certainly won't be the last player Tampa Bay moves on from.
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