The Tampa Bay Buccaneers activated defensive linemen C.J. Brewer and Mike Greene from the practice squad on Saturday, making both players eligible to play in Sunday's 2024 season opener against the Washington Commanders. The team also announced on Saturday that defensive lineman Calijah Kancey has been downgraded to out on the injury report due to a calf injury suffered in practice on Friday.
The NFL introduced the practice squad elevation option in 2020, allowing teams to activate up to two practice squad players for each game. By utilizing both options in Week One, the Buccaneers have increased their game day roster to 55 players for their Week Two matchup with the Saints. They will be able to keep 48 of those player active for the game, naming seven inactives prior to kickoff.
Each player on the practice squad can be elevated up to three times during the regular season and an unlimited amount of times in the postseason. After the game, elevated players automatically revert to the practice squad without having to pass through waivers.
The Bucs finished training camp with an almost injury-free roster but have since taken a series of hits to their defensive line. First Logan Hall suffered a foot injury in practice the week after the last preseason game; he was ruled out for the game on Friday's injury report. Next, Earnest Brown sustained a ribs injury on the practice field and was moved to injured reserve on Friday. Finally, at the end of their last practice before the season opener on Friday, Kancey was hurt and the team added him to the injury report. He was originally listed as questionable before the Bucs determined that he would not be able to play on Sunday.
The Buccaneers did add a down lineman at the end of the week, signing second-year player Ben Stille off Arizona's practice squad. Still, the rapid succession of injuries at the position forced the Bucs to utilize two of their elevation options right at the start of the season.
The practice squad elevation option was introduced as part of the new collective bargaining agreement in 2020. The new rule was something of a compromise, as it did not expand the active rosters beyond 53 players but did give teams a few more options on game days. In this case, the Bucs needed it simply to have enough healthy defensive linemen to take the field on Sunday.
