Bucs adjust, add Wright, and cut James, Murphy

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have brought back Major Wright, a safety who started nine games for Tampa Bay in the 2014-15 seasons, the team announced Tuesday.

To make room on the roster, the Bucs waived running back Mike James. On the practice squad, the team re-signed defensive tackle Rodney Coe and released defensive end Kourtnei Brown. In addition, wide receiver Louis Murphy has been waived from the reserve/physically-unable-to-perform list.

Wright learned defensive coordinator Mike Smith’s playbook during the 2016 offseason and training camp. He was waived in August after playing in three preseason games and contributing a pair of tackles. He first joined the Bucs as an unrestricted free agent in April 2014 after spending his first four seasons with the Chicago Bears. Originally a third-round draft pick out of the University of Florida, he was a starter for the Bears from 2011-13.

James was a sixth-round draft pick for the Bucs from the University of Miami in 2013. He played in 20 games over his first two seasons before spending much of the 2015 season on Tampa Bay’s practice squad. He initially made the Bucs’ 53-man roster to start this season but was waived/injured before the first game. He then was on Detroit’s practice squad before returning to the Buccaneers on Nov. 1. He appeared in the last four games, carrying four times for 19 yards and catching four passes for another 22 yards.

Coe had been signed to the practice squad on Sept. 14 and released on Nov. 18. Brown was signed to the practice squad two weeks ago.

This story was originally published November 29, 2016 at 5:35 PM with the headline "Bucs adjust, add Wright, and cut James, Murphy."