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3 Buccaneers players who could surprise in the 2021 season

By Sayre Bedinger

OJ Howard and Antonio Brown, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
OJ Howard and Antonio Brown, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Chris Cooper, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Chris Cooper, Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety and special teams player. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Chris Cooper, safety/special teams

Cut by the Denver Broncos in June, Chris Cooper signed on with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as basically a camp body in late July.

An explosive athlete with sub-4.5 speed and a 35-inch vertical jump coming out of Stony Brook in 2018, Cooper has bounced around the league a little bit trying to catch on with, and at this point, he has yet to play a single NFL snap in the regular season.

That will soon change after Cooper cracked the Buccaneers’ 53-man roster thanks to impressive special teams play over the course of the last month and a half.

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1431790115714580480

Cooper’s outstanding efforts on special teams were rewarded with a spot on this loaded Bucs roster, which only includes nine new players from last year’s team.

To be one of only three non-draft picks to crack the roster?

At 27 years of age, Cooper is going to get a shot to make his mark on this Bucs team, which is definitely deep on both sides of the ball. How do you repeat as Super Bowl champions? You’ve got to be nearly flawless in all three phases of the game. If Cooper can provide an upgrade on special teams coverage units and maybe some splash plays throughout the year, he will be a very fun longshot story over the course of the season.

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