The Tampa Bay Buccaneers activated veteran wide receiver Cole Beasley and first-year guard John Molchon from the practice squad on Saturday, making both players eligible to play in Sunday's home opener against Green Bay.
The NFL introduced the practice squad elevation option in 2020, which allows teams to activate up to two practice squad players for each game. By utilizing both options in Week Three, the Buccaneers have increased their game day roster to 55 players for their matchup with the Packers at Raymond James Stadium. They will be able to keep 48 of those players 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.
Despite just joining the team on Wednesday, Beasley could be in the mix on Sunday thanks to the Buccaneers' depleted receiving corps. Mike Evans is serving a one-game suspension, Chris Godwin has been ruled out of the game due to a hamstring injury and Russell Gage (hamstring), Julio Jones (knee) and Breshad Perriman (knee) are all considered questionable to play.
Beasley is coming off consecutive 82-catch seasons for the Buffalo Bills. He has considerable experience working out of the slot, where the Buccaneers are down their primary weapon in Godwin. Beasley has played in 149 games with 50 starts and has amassed 550 receptions for 5,709 yards and 54 touchdowns.
Molchon also provides help for a position that is experience depth issues due to injuries. The Bucs lost tackle Josh Wells to injured reserve this week; Wells had started at left tackle in New Orleans while Donovan Smith was sidelined with an elbow injury. Smith is likely to miss his second game in a row – he was listed as doubtful on Friday's injury report – pushing first-year man Brandon Walton into the starting lineup. Molchon joins Nick Leverett and Fred Johnson as the three reserve linemen heading into Sunday's game.
