Andre Ellington

With Ellington no longer in the mix, the Bucs' backfield currently comprises Peyton Barber, Ronald Jones and Dare Ogunbowale. Ellington will now look to carve out a change-of-pace role with another team.

Like the other two Buccaneers backs that saw carries Thursday -- Bruce Anderson and Dare Ogunbowale -- Ellington couldn't get much going on the ground, especially considering gained 11 yards on one tote and netted minus-2 on his other pair of rushing touches. It was a different story through the air, as the 30-year-old led Tampa in receiving yards and tallied a team-high 23-yard reception on one of his two grabs. The battle for the third running back role between Ellington and Ogunbowale has been a heated one all summer, and it remains to be seen who'll emerge victorious at final cuts in the coming days.

Ellington and his primary competition for the third running back job, Dare Ogunbowale, saw almost equal opportunity in the contest, with the latter outpacing Ellington by a carry, a rushing yard and a reception apiece. Ellington did provide another solid accounting of himself in the contest and appears to still be in relatively good shape for a roster spot, assuming the team keeps at least four running backs.

Ellington couldn't get much going in the running game and fumbled on the third play of the Buccaneers' second possession. However, he atoned to an extent with his sure hands. Ellington didn't see any reps in the return game as he had in the exhibition opener, but he otherwise got a fairly long look again by preseason standards. However, Dare Ogunbowale, who's battling for a backup running back job himself, outdid the veteran through the air with a 41-yard reception on his way to a 3-54 line, making next week's third preseason game against the Browns a potentially pivotal one for Ellington.