No Fear + Two Hits + Amazing Irony
November 16th, 2016
“Juice”
The newest member of the Buccaneers’ defense is drawing praise all around One Buc Palace.
And Bucs fans are going to love this for many reasons.
First, defensive end Ryan Russell played well Sunday in his Tampa Bay debut after getting promoted from the practice squad.
Before the game, general manager Jason Licht said Russell has “juice” and the team was excited to see him play.
Dirk Koetter enthusiastically praised Russell after the game, and defensive line coach Jay Hayes shared his love on the Buccaneers Radio Network, saying Russell played fearlessly and had two quarterback hits.
Last year, Russell was a fifth-round pick of the Cowboys out of Perdue (wait for it) just one pick after the Bucs selected wide receiver Kenny Bell, who made misplaced Calgary Stampeder Donteea Dye look like a superhero. Bell has relocated his trademark afro to the Ravens’ practice squad.
Russell is a bit of an athletic freak who disappointed in Dallas and was released with the Cowboys’ final cuts this season. The Bucs put him on their practice squad a couple of weeks later, and Joe can’t disagree, he looked pretty good Sunday.
The one game Russell played for Dallas last season, Hayes said, seemed to be enough to get rid of his NFL jitters. Hayes liked how comfortable Russell looked and said he will take the place of injured Howard Jones in the Bucs’ “sub” pass-rush packages.
November 16th, 2016 at 11:45 am
Good for Ryan Russell!!!! I love to see a kid do well after being let go from another team…
Go Bucs!!!
And glad they bought Kourtnei Brown back to the PS!!
November 16th, 2016 at 11:49 am
@Life,
Kourtney brown is one those guys who flashes great ability, but can’t seem to play consistently. It would be great if we could get him to start producing! Def pulling for the kid.
Stoked to see what Ryan Russell is all about and hoping he can keep elevating his play! GM Licht has been very good at finding situational pass rushers off the street in his tenure.
November 16th, 2016 at 12:14 pm
As we’ve learned time and again, you can’t have enough competent d-linemen. Good job Russell! Keep it up.
November 16th, 2016 at 12:51 pm
All about the Trenches!!!! This is how the OLine developed last year. The injuries last year gave valuable experience to young Offensive lineman and now we are starting to see some depth. Our DLine is getting the same experience this year. There have been injuries and struggles in the pass rush for sure, but letting the younger players get part time experience will pay huge dividends toward the end of the season and in the coming years. Let’s give it some more time to develop. Having great play in the trenches helps mask weaknesses. I believe Jameis will make our WRs look better if we can keep him clean.
November 16th, 2016 at 2:21 pm
Good job Bucs scouts, keep it up.
November 16th, 2016 at 2:34 pm
Glad we picked him up, but I’m sure it takes a little more to make the Cowboys squad then it does the Buc’s at this point.
November 16th, 2016 at 3:49 pm
Umm, I do not believe he went to a place that produces chicken. Instead, it was PURDUE. Come on man, the sorry football program does not get any credit to begin with!
November 17th, 2016 at 9:59 am
Hey, Joe, lose the intrusive audio ads. Makes me want to stop visiting your site.