To borrow a phrase recently employed by the NFL when it switched Tampa Bay's game in Las Vegas from 8:20 p.m. to 4:05 p.m., the Buccaneers have used "an abundance of caution" in dealing with running back Leonard Fournette's injured ankle. After deciding to give him one more week of recovery and declaring him inactive against Green Bay in Week Six, the Buccaneers will have Fournette back in their offensive mix against the Raiders on Sunday. On Friday, Head Coach Bruce Arians said that Fournette would "reassume his role," which prior to his injury was as the primary complement to Ronald Jones in the running game.
Newly-acquired defensive lineman Steve McLendon is also active even though he has had just one practice with the Buccaneers following this week's trade from the New York Jets. Arians indicated on Friday that McLendon would definitely have a role in Tampa Bay's defense, which most likely will consist of relieving nose tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches for a couple dozen snaps.
The Buccaneers did not hold any players out on Sunday due to injury, as safety Andrew Adams was the only player on the Friday injury report with a questionable designation and he has been cleared to play.
The Buccaneers announced their list of inactives at 2:35 p.m. ET, 90 minutes before kickoff against the Raiders. With 53 players on the active roster no players elevated from the practice squad this week, the Buccaneers had to name five players inactive in order to get down to the limit of 48 active players.
The Raiders had 53 players available on Sunday as well after one practice squad elevation. Thus, they also had to name five inactives to get down to the limit. Starting offensive linemen Denzell Good, Rodney Hudson, Gabe Jackson and Kolton Miller were all activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list after being quarantined for most of the week due to their contact with starting right tackle Trent Brown. They will all play against the Buccaneers. Brown tested positive on Monday and will remain on the COVID list on Sunday, as will safety Johnathan Abram, who had close contact with Brown on Tuesday. Neither currently count against the active roster and thus do not have to be included in the active/inactive lists for the game.
Las Vegas will be without wide receiver Bryan Edwards and cornerback Keisean Nixon, both of whom were ruled out Friday and named inactive Sunday. Edwards, a third-round pick in the 2020 draft, started the Raiders first three games but has missed the last three with an ankle injury. Nixon has played almost exclusively on special teams.
BUCCANEERS INACTIVES
- OLB Quinton Bell
- DL Khalil Davis
- WR Cyril Grayson
- QB Ryan Griffin
- G Aaron Stinnie
RAIDERS INACTIVES
- WR Bryan Edwards
- DL David Irving
- QB Marcus Mariota
- CB Keisean Nixon
- G Patrick Omameh
Edwards and Nixon are out due to injury.
