The Tampa Bay Buccaneers activated punter Trenton Gill from the practice squad on Monday afternoon, making him eligible to play in the team's home game against the Baltimore Ravens later that evening.
The NFL introduced the practice squad elevation option in 2020, allowing teams to activate up to two practice squad players for each game. The Buccaneers are currently carrying 52 players active roster but will have 53 men available to play against the Ravens at Raymond James Stadium. They will be able to keep 48 of those player active for the game, naming five 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. This is the third and final elevation for Gill. For Sunday games, teams must submit their elevations to the NFL on Saturday, but transactions are allowed on game days for Monday, Thursday and Saturday outings.
The Buccaneers also elevated Gill to play against Philadelphia and Atlanta in Weeks Four and Five and he took over the punting duties while Jake Camarda was inactive. Gill averaged 39.5 yards on six punts, with a net average of 35.5.
Gill was signed to the Buccaneers' practice squad on September 24. A seventh-round draft pick by Chicago in 2022, Gill spent the last two seasons as the Bears' punter, averaging 46.1 yards per punt with a net of 38.5. He went to training camp with the Denver Broncos this summer.
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, particularly in regard to dealing with injuries.
