Cody Thompson scores his first NFL touchdown

Huron graduate Cody Thompson caught his first NFL touchdown pass Saturday night. Thompson, who signed earlier this summer with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, flashed open running across the front of the end zone on a third-and-goal play late in the first half. Bucs quarterback Kyle Trask scrambled to his right and hit Thompson in stride for the 6-yard score. The touchdown catch and ensuing extra point tied the game with the Jacksonville Jaguars at 7-7 with 2:47 to play in the second quarter. Thompson got the scoring drive started by picking up 13 rushing yards on an end-around call. Thompson led the Bucs with five catches for 66 yards. "He's really one of the guys we wanted to see tonight," Bucs coach Todd Bowles said in his postgame news conference. "He got a lot time, he got a lot of plays. He made a lot of plays. Gotta look a the totality of it, but he showed up. "The lights weren't too big for him. He knows assignment football, he understands the game and he catches in traffic." Trask got the bulk of the work at quarterback, completing 12 of 19 passes for 108 yards. Starter Baker Mayfield sat out the preseason game. The Jaguars won the game 20-7. Quarterback Mac Jones threw for 210 yards and two touchdowns. Tampa Bay is 1-1 in the preseason and hosts the Miami Dolphins on Friday. Thompson, who is in his sixth season in the NFL, has appeared in 11 preseason games in his career with 23 receptions for 253 yards on one TD. The Toledo graduate has caught one pass in the regular season. That came last year when he played for the Seattle Seahawks. He was active for seven games in 2023 with the Seahawks. Thompson is one of 13 receivers on the Buccaneers roster. "The more plays you make the more your name gets thrown around and the more reps you get," Thompson told the Register last month. "I just have to prove myself each day. I know it sounds cliche, but I have to control what I can control." NFL teams must cut their rosters to 53 players by 4 p.m. August 27. In addition to the active rosters, each team can fill 17 slots on the practice squad.