Buccaneers sign rookie WR Matthew Henry, place rookie DL Deshawn McKnight on injured reserve

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a two-part roster adjustment on Tuesday, adding rookie receiver Matthew Henry and placing rookie defensive lineman Deshawn McKnight on injured reserve. The transaction deepens a receiving unit that has had to work through absences late in training camp, while also formally removing McKnight from availability during the period covered by the team’s IR designation.

Henry enters the NFL after completing his collegiate career at Western Kentucky. According to the Buccaneers’ team release, he previously played at Western Illinois and Livingstone College, giving him multiple stops and systems before arriving in Tampa Bay. With his college route-running developed across different levels of competition, the early NFL focus for a rookie receiver typically centers on consistent hands, route timing, and earning trust in situational passing downs.

From Tampa Bay’s perspective, adding a rookie wideout at this stage is a practical response to the realities of a camp-and-roster transition. Training camp is when depth groups are most frequently tested, and when the later stages arrive, the organization often looks for immediate contributors on the practice field who can push the veterans for snaps. Henry’s signing indicates that the Buccaneers want to maintain receiving competition even as other players’ availability has been impacted.

At the same time, the team placed McKnight on injured reserve. The move, per the club’s announcement, means he will not be part of the active roster during the IR window that follows the designation. For a rookie defensive lineman, that can be a significant developmental interruption, since the early NFL period is usually critical for learning hand placement, gap discipline, and pass-rush timing against professional offensive lines.

The Buccaneers’ receiving corps will now include Henry as they head into the next phase of the preseason and roster-setting work. In practice, a new wideout can affect more than just depth charts, because it creates additional practice reps for quarterbacks and expands the team’s ability to simulate different coverage looks. The question moving forward is how quickly Henry can translate his college production style into the playbook and demonstrate reliability when routes are tested under speed.

For McKnight, the immediate storyline is rehabilitation and the path back from IR, which is often measured in weeks rather than days. Tampa Bay will likely fill his absence through its existing defensive line depth, while keeping an eye on whether his return timeline can align with later roster decisions.