The Tampa Bay Buccaneers activated punter Trenton Gill and wide receiver Cody Thompson from the practice squad on Saturday, making both players eligible to play in Thursday's Week Five primetime game against the Atlanta Falcons.
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 Five, the Buccaneers have increased their game day roster to 55 players for their matchup with the Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. 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. This is the second elevation for Gill and the first for Thompson. 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 in Week Four and he took over the punting duties while Jake Camarda was inactive. Gill averaged 37.5 yards on four punts, with a net average of 37.5 as well.
"Jake has been in a little slump lately, but we have a lot of confidence in him," Head Coach Todd Bowles said on Monday after the Eagles game. "We just needed to work on a few things going forward. Gill had a shorter average, but he got hangtime. He caused some fair catches and he put the ball inside the 20[-yard line] two times."
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 Bucs had elevated veteran wide receiver Sterling Shepard from the practice squad for each of the past two games, but with injuries mounting at the position they have since promoted him to the 53-man roster. Wide receivers Trey Palmer (concussion) and Jalen McMillan (hamstring) have already been ruled out for Thursday's game and wideout Kameron Johnson has been dealing with an ankle injury.
Thompson, who played five games with the Seattle Seahawks in 2021 and another seven last year, signed with the Buccaneers on June 7. He had a team-high 15 catches for 137 yards and a touchdown for the Bucs during the preseason. He originally entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Toledo with Kansas City and has also seen time on practice squads with the Chiefs and Bengals.
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.
