The Tampa Bay Buccaneers restored their practice squad to the maximum of 10 players with three signings on Wednesday, and now that crew has a decidedly offensive tilt.
The players signed on Wednesday were center Anthony Fabiano, wide receiver Ishmael Hyman and running back Aca'Cedric Ware. Seven of the 10 practice squad spots are currently devoted to offensive players. The Buccaneers had three openings on that unit after promoting center Nate Trewyn to the active roster on Saturday and releasing outside linebacker Demone Harris and running back Darius Jackson on Tuesday.
Those additions come at positions that had recent lost players, either off the practice squad or the active roster. The promotion of Trewyn was necessary after fellow rookie Zack Bailey, who was on the 53-man roster, suffered an ankle injury in practice last Friday and had to be placed on injured reserve. The Buccaneers also released wide receiver Bobo Wilson from the active roster on Tuesday, and Ware is a direct replacement on the practice squad for Jackson.
Fabiano (6-4, 303) is the most experienced of Wednesday's additions, having played in nine games with two starts for the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets in 2016-17. He originally entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Harvard with the Baltimore Ravens in 2016 but ended up on the Browns' practice squad to start his rookie season. He was later promoted to the active roster in October and again in December and got into four games with one start.
After being waived by the Browns at the end of the following preseason, Fabiano spent time on practice squads in Washington, New York (Giants) and New England before landing with the Colts and getting into five more games. He returned to the Browns as a waiver claim in May of 2018 but was once again waived at the end of the preseason. His NFL travels took him next to Philadelphia, on the Eagles' practice squad late last season and then to camp with the team this summer.
Hyman returns for a second stint on the Bucs' practice squad. The first one lasted just two weeks, as he was signed on September 24 and waived on October 8. In the interim, Hyman was selected by the St. Louis BattleHawks in the XFL's draft on Wednesday.
Hyman (6-0, 193) was also previously with the Browns, having signed as a rookie free agent out of James Madison in April. He was waived during the leaguewide roster cutdown to 53 at the end of the preseason. Hyman actually finished his college career in 2017 but after going undrafted in 2018 he landed in the short-lived AAF with the Orlando Apollos, recording four catches for 60 yards. He played four seasons at JMU after transferring from Kansas, catching 72 passes for 1,061 yards and 11 touchdowns. In 2016 Hyman helped the Dukes capture the FCS National Championship.
Ware (6-0, 200) went undrafted out of USC this past spring and then signed with Indianapolis in July just before the start of training camp. He was the Colts' leading rusher during the preseason with 108 yards on 33 carries, and he also caught nine passes for 36 yards. At USC, Ware played in 46 games and compiled 1,505 yards and 10 touchdowns on 264 carries while also catching 19 passes for 126 yards. Ware and Buccaneers running back Ronald Jones were teammates in the Trojans' backfield from 2015-17.
