Will Buccaneers starters play against the Bills on Saturday?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are set to play their last preseason game against the Buffalo Bills on Saturday, wrapping up preseason for the team. They played starters against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2 of preseason (sans a few key players), but that won't be the case this time.

The Buccaneers will not play starters against the Buffalo Bills, head coach Todd Bowles revealed on Thursday after the last day of training camp. The decision mirrors a similar philosophy in Week 1 of the preseason against the Tennessee Titans, where only rookie starters took snaps.

Todd Bowles announces that “no starters” will play on Saturday against the Bills.
— River Wells (@riverhwells) August 21, 2025

Buccaneers starters won't play vs. Bills

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) watches warm ups for a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

There are a number of reasons that make sense for the Buccaneers as to why they wouldn't play starters in the final game of the preseason. To start, the Bucs are decently hurt, with multiple defensive backs injured and a recent big injury to Jalen McMillan, who suffered a severe neck strain, occurring in Week 2 of preseason against the Steelers. Head coach Todd Bowles probably wants to take it easy on Saturday and let the Buccaneers get healthy.

There's also the unique matter of the team's matchup with the Buffalo Bills. The Bucs will end up playing the Bills in the regular season, too, so both teams will be extremely cautious about what they are showing the other team. The Bucs might not wanna reveal too much about the personnel they use with specific players, so playing starters might not be the best idea if you want to keep everything close to the vest.

Those things in tandem probably contributed to Todd Bowles' decision. Kyle Trask is set to start Saturday's game, and then we'll get to see more from new Bucs QB Teddy Bridgewater, too. The Bills appear to be taking a similar route, as Bills QB Josh Allen is set to miss the first preseason game of his entire career on Saturday.

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