Christian Izien, the rookie safety who mans the slot corner position for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, cleared concussion protocol late in the week and has been cleared to play Sunday against the Chicago Bears. Izien had a critical goal-line interception in his NFL debut at Minnesota in Week One.
The Buccaneers will be without two defensive starters, however. Rookie defensive lineman Calijah Kancey aggravated a calf injury against the Vikings and did not practice leading up to this week's game. The same was true for cornerback Carlton Davis, who sustained a toe injury in Week One. Both are inactive for the game, as is rookie linebacker SirVocea Dennis, who suffered a hamstring injury during practice on Thursday.
The Buccaneers and Bears submitted their list of inactives at 11:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, 90 minutes before the scheduled kickoff of their Week Two game at Raymond James Stadium. The Buccaneers elevated defensive lineman Patrick O'Connor and linebacker J.J. Russell from the practice squad for Sunday's game, giving them a 55-man roster. That meant they had to declare seven players inactive.
The Bears' inactive information will be added shortly.
BUCCANEERS INACTIVES
- CB Carlton Davis
- LB SirVocea Dennis
- TE Payne Durham
- DL Calijah Kancey
- RB Ke'Shawn Vaughn
- T Brandon Walton
- OLB Markees Watts
Davis, Dennis and Kancey are out due to injury.
BEARS INACTIVES
- QB Tyson Bagent
- CB Josh Blackwell
- G Nate Davis
- RB D'Onta Foreman
- DE Khalid Kareem
- WR Equanimeous St. Brown
Blackwell is out due to injury.