The Tampa Bay Buccaneers elevated wide receiver Cyril Grayson from the practice squad on Saturday, making him available to play in Sunday's game at New Orleans. The Buccaneers only used one of their two elevation options in Week Eight.
This is the second week in a row that Grayson has been moved up to the active roster for game day, coinciding with the contests missed by wide receiver Antonio Brown due to an ankle injury. The team can use a standard elevation option on a specific player only twice during the season, though additional elevations to replace players on the reserve/COVID-19 list are also allowed.
With Grayson on the roster, the Buccaneers will be able keep up to five receivers active against the Saints, as he joins Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Tyler Johnson and Jaelon Darden. Last week, Grayson played 13 snaps on offense in Tampa Bay's win over Chicago, though he was not targeted in the passing game.
Grayson has played in six games for the Buccaneers over the past three seasons. In 2019, he recorded his lone NFL reception, gaining three yards.
The practice squad elevation option was first introduced in 2020 as part of the new collective bargaining agreement. It came prior to a number of other rule changes that the NFL and NFLPA agreed upon in the summer of 2020 to provide teams with more roster flexibility during the pandemic. 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.
After the game, Grayson will automatically revert to the practice squad without having to pass through waivers.
