The Buccaneers waived running back Mike James on Tuesday that opens up a roster spot – and some speculation on how it might be filled.

A sixth-round pick out of Miami in 2013, James has 332 career rushing yards and no touchdowns. He saw the most action during his rookie season after Doug Martin went down with an injury, rushing for 295 yards on 60 carries. In 2014 he had 37 yards on 19 carries.

The third-year pro was considered to be a “bubble” player during the preseason, and although he made the final 53, James has been inactive through the first three weeks of the 2015 season. Tampa Bay has dressed Martin, Charles Sims and Bobby Rainey to round out its backfield.

No corresponding addition has been announced yet, but it should be noted that the Bucs had a couple knee injuries in the secondary – Johnthan Banks and Tim Jennings – which could require an extra defensive back.

The team made a practice squad move Tuesday by releasing cornerback Imoan Claiborne from the practice squad and signing defensive tackle Derrick Lott to fill the vacancy there. Lott (6-4, 314) spent Week 2 on Tampa Bay’s practice squad.

The Twitter speculation train started soon after Randy Getlin reported the roster move earlier on Tuesday. With the Chicago Bears in somewhat of a trade mode after dealing Jared Allen to the Panthers on Monday, the whispers that the Bucs being potentially interested in acquiring Chicago standout running back Matt Forte began following the waiving of James. And while the speculation makes some sense due to Lovie Smith’s connection with Forte, would Tampa Bay be willing to take on the remainder of Forte’s $9.2 million cap hit for a player who is slated to become an unrestricted free agent after this season?

So far in 2015 Forte has rushed for 276 yards and one touchdown, while also catching nine passes for 69 yards.

– Zach Shapiro, Mark Cook and Eric Horchy combined on this report