Head Coach Bruce Arians will be on the sideline at MetLife Stadium when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on the New York Jets on Sunday.
Arians and Wide Receivers Coach Kevin Garver returned to their respective posts on Saturday after spending most of the week in isolation due to positive COVID-19 tests. They will travel with the team to New Jersey and will fulfill their usual duties on Sunday, with kickoff against the Jets scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET. Assistant Head Coach/Run Game Coordinator Harold Goodwin had served as the team's interim head coach during the week after Arians began his isolation on Tuesday.
The Buccaneers also activated cornerbacks Jamel Dean and Sean Murphy-Bunting from the reserve/COVID-19 list, where they had been placed on Tuesday. Dean and Murphy-Bunting will not fly with the team Saturday but could still travel separately to New Jersey and participate in Sunday's game. Both defenders were added to the Buccaneers' injury report on Saturday and designated as questionable.
In addition, Tampa Bay elevated four players from the practice squad, making them eligible to play on Sunday as well. Punter Sterling Hofrichter and outside linebacker Elijah Ponder were flexed to the active roster using standard elevations, while running back Kenjon Barner and wide receiver Cyril Grayson moved up as COVID-19 replacements. After activating Dean and Murphy-Bunting the Bucs still had two players on the reserve/COVID-19 list, wide receiver Jaelon Darden and punter Bradley Pinion.
Dean and Murphy-Bunting did not practice with the team, obviously, in the week of preparation for the Jets game, but fellow cornerback Richard Sherman is listed as doubtful to play Sunday due to an Achilles tendon injury. In addition to those three, the Buccaneers' cornerback group currently includes Carlton Davis, Ross Cockrell, Pierre Desir, Dee Delaney and Rashard Robinson.
Barner, Grayson and Hofrichter were all elevated last week and all three took on significant roles in the Bucs' 32-6 win at Carolina. Barner took over for Darden as the punt and kickoff returner and ran back five punts for 44 yards, including a 20-yarder to midfield that set up a field goal drive. Grayson played 53 of the team's 69 offensive snaps as one of the three primary receivers and contributed 95 yards from scrimmage, including a 62-yard catch that led to a Cameron Brate touchdown. Hofrichter filled in for Pinion as the punter and also handled all kickoffs, with seven of his eight kickoffs going into the end zone, producing five touchbacks.
