The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have waived former Nebraska Cornhuskers linebacker John Bullock, ending his second stint with the club as the team trimmed its roster ahead of the NFL’s 53-man deadline.
Bullock, a 6-foot, 230-pound Omaha native, was one of several players let go Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, as Tampa Bay began cutting toward the limit. The second-year linebacker had made the 53 as an undrafted rookie in 2025 but faced stiff competition for backup linebacker and special-teams roles this year.
The 25-year-old’s path has been defined by persistence.
He joined Nebraska as a walk-on in 2019, later earned a scholarship, and developed into a starter. In 2024 he started all 13 games, posted a career-high 70 tackles with 10 tackles for loss, four sacks, two forced fumbles, and an interception returned for a touchdown, earning honorable mention All-Big Ten honors.
After going undrafted in 2025, he signed with the Buccaneers on May 9 and beat the odds to make the opening roster.
As a rookie he appeared in 15 games, almost exclusively on special teams—253 snaps in the kicking game versus just five on defense—and finished with 10 tackles. A late-season lapse followed him.
In a Week 16 loss at Carolina, a dead-ball unnecessary-roughness penalty after a kickoff pinned Tampa Bay at its own 10-yard line during a critical fourth-quarter sequence. He was inactive the next week and waived on Jan. 2, 2026.
The Indianapolis Colts claimed him three days later, then waived him on May 7. Tampa Bay claimed him back the next day, betting again on his special-teams value. That second chance lasted through training camp and the preseason before Saturday’s cut.
Bullock originally signed a three-year, roughly $2.98 million undrafted contract with a small signing bonus. Waiving him terminates that deal with Tampa Bay; he now becomes a free agent who can be claimed or signed by another club, including to a practice squad after final cuts.
For a player who once considered walking away from football and instead carved out an NFL roster spot as a walk-on-turned-undrafted free agent, the next landing spot will likely again hinge on special teams and depth at linebacker.
The Buccaneers’ linebacker room is crowded after the draft and camp additions, and Saturday’s moves were standard August business.
For Bullock, they close another chapter with the only NFL team that has given him regular-season snaps—and leave open the possibility that another franchise values the same work ethic that got him this far.
