Antonio Brown's path to a return to the playing field was cleared on Tuesday when he was activated from the reserve/suspended list, adding him to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 53-man roster. To make room for Brown on that 53-man list the Buccaneers waived wide receiver Cyril Grayson.
Running back Kenjon Barner also finished his four game suspension and returned to Tampa Bay's practice squad. Running back Aca'Cedric Ware was released to create a spot on that 16-man crew. The Buccaneers also made another change on the practice squad, re-signing rookie guard John Molchon and releasing second-year guard Zack Bailey.
The Buccaneers officially signed Brown on October 27 and he was able to attend meetings and work with the team's strength coaches last week while finishing his suspension. Brown can now practice with the team beginning on Wednesday and he will be eligible to make his Buccaneers debut when the team takes on New Orleans on Sunday night at Raymond James Stadium.
Brown most recently played one game for the New England Patriots in September of last season, catching four passes for 56 yards and a touchdown from current Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady. Brown played the previous nine seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers, earning seven Pro Bowl invites and four first-team Associated Press All-Pro selections. His career totals include 841 receptions for 11,263 yards and 75 touchdowns and he had in excess of 1,200 yards and eight touchdowns every season from 2013-18.
Grayson split the first eight weeks of the season between the Buccaneers' practice squad and active roster, appearing in three games and recording one kickoff return for 20 yards.
Barner spent the first four weeks of the season on Tampa Bay's practice squad before his suspension on October 6. He was elevated for game day in two of those weeks and played in two games on special teams, returning one kickoff for 33 yards. The seventh-year veteran back has played in 69 career regular-season games for the Panthers, Eagles, Patriots, Falcons and Buccaneers.
Ware joined the Buccaneers' practice squad in Week Six. He also spent the last 10 weeks of the 2019 season on that crew.
Tampa Bay signed Molchon as an undrafted free agent out of Boise State this past spring. He suffered a knee injury late in training camp and was carried through the final cuts to the 53-man roster before being placed on injured reserve the next day. The Buccaneers activated Molchon from I.R. last Friday but then waived him a day later to make room for tight end Antony Auclair, who was also activated from injured reserve. Molchon started 42 games over four seasons at Boise State and was named to the Mountain West all-conference first-team in 2019.
Bailey also joined the Buccaneers as a rookie free agent, signing with the team out of South Carolina after the 2019 draft. He made the active roster as a rookie but later landed on injured reserve without appearing in a game. Bailey went back to camp with the Buccaneers this summer and has been on the practice squad since Week One.
