Prompted by some new player injuries sustained in Week Four, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a series of roster moves on Tuesday, two days before their Thursday night game in Atlanta. Most notably, wide receiver Sterling Shepard and linebacker Antonio Grier were signed to the active roster off the team's practice squad and linebacker SirVocea Dennis was placed on injured reserve.
In addition, rookie linebacker Kalen DeLoach was signed to the practice squad. The team still has one spot on that 16-man unit to fill. Earlier on Tuesday, the Buccaneers waived defensive lineman Ben Stille.
Dennis suffered a shoulder injury in the Bucs' win over Philadelphia on Sunday and was expected to miss multiple weeks. The receiving corps has recently been thinned by a hamstring injury suffered by rookie Jalen McMillan in practice last Friday and a concussion sustained by Trey Palmer against the Eagles. In addition, rookie wide receiver Kameron Johnson is on the injury report with an ankle ailment.
Shepard has already been elevated from the practice squad for the past two games, and against the Eagles he played extensively after Palmer's injury and hauled in three passes for 51 yards. Before joining the Buccaneers in Juen, Shepard played eight seasons for the New York Giants, compiling 372 receptions for 4,095 yards and 23 touchdowns. He also was a teammate for one season with Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield at the University of Oklahoma.
Grier signed with the Bucs as an undrafted free agent out of Arkansas. He also played five seasons for the nearby University of South Florida, and across his six total collegiate campaigns he amassed 265 tackles, 10.0 sacks, 23.5 tackles for loss, five forced fumbles, four passes defensed, three interceptions and two defensive touchdowns. His promotion gives the Bucs' a fourth off-ball linebacker, as he joins J.J. Russell as reserves behind starters Lavonte David and K.J. Britt.
Dennis played in the Buccaneers' first four games, splitting snaps with Britt and generally playing in expected passing situations. He has 20 tackles, one tackle for loss and one sack so far this season.
DeLoach went to training camp with the Buccaneers after signing as an undrafted free agent out of Florida State in May. He played in two preseason games and contributed five tackles, plus two more stops on special teams. For the Seminoles, he played in 55 games and finished with 212 tackles, 11.0 sacks, two forced fumbles, two interceptions and 13 passes defensed. He also excelled on special teams.
