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Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht spent much of the last year defending his decision to trade up in the 2016 NFL Draft and use a second-round pick on kicker Roberto Aguayo. On Saturday, the team cut Aguayo after a meltdown in the preseason opener.

Licht told TheMMQB.com's Peter King that the Bucs needed to make a clean break and moved on from Aguayo.

"You never feel good when you shatter someone's dream," Licht said. "That is always tough, especially someone you had such high hopes for. You don't have good feelings about that. It is a little bit of a sense of, I don't want to say relief, but we've ripped off the band-aid, and we move on. We're moving forward."

Coach Dirk Koetter, who had been frustrated with Aguayo's inconsistency, hinted at the kicker's fate after Friday's preseason game in which Aguayo missed two attempts. "I keep saying it and I can't say it anymore. You're a kicker. You've gotta make your kicks," Koetter said.

On Tuesday, "Hard Knocks," which is following the Bucs during training camp, provided a glimpse into Koetter's office as Aguayo learned his fate:

"Well, it's never easy. I'll just get right to it, we're gonna release you," Licht said. "But I do want to tell you that we appreciate everything you've done for us, all right?

"You know," Licht continued after a deep breath, "we just gotta rely on you to make those kicks."

Aguayo, fighting back tears, told Licht and Koetter (via ESPN.com), "I let you guys down. I let myself down. But it's a matter of keeping your head up. Keep pushing."

Koetter, perhaps realizing that he was talking to a 23-year-old who he had just fired for not living up to expectations, tried to soften the blow.

"Roberto, this isn't about you the man, all right? This is about a guy who's just not consistent as a kicker right now," the coach said. ..." I've been fired, Jason's been fired; it's not the end. You know it's in you. You have the talent. It's just a consistency issue. Even though it hurts today, you've got to keep your head up. You've just gotta go back to the basics and what got you here in the first place -- the most consistent kicker in college football history." Before Aguayo was cut, Licht and Koetter spoke about Nick Folk, the veteran kicker signed in the offseason to provide competition.

"It's funny, but Folk is the one, if he has a couple misses out here in practice, when you get to a game, I have confidence he's gonna make it, just because of the way he's wired," Licht said. "Whereas it's the opposite with Roberto. He can make 20 of his last 20 kicks and then go to a game and nobody's confident he's going to make it -- not even an extra point. ... It's just such a bigger mistake to keep holding on to him."

Good news: Aguayo wasn't out of work long. On Sunday he was claimed off waivers by the Bears.