The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are hoping that defensive lineman Calijah Kancey can return from his calf injury and make his 2024 season debut on Sunday in New Orleans. They might also be getting some additional reinforcements at that position soon.
On Wednesday, the Buccaneers designated defensive lineman Earnest Brown IV for return from the injured reserve list. That opens a 21-day windown in which Brown can practice with the team without counting against the 53-man roster. He can be activated at any point during those three weeks and then return to game action, and the Buccaneers currently have one spot open on the active roster after a series of moves made on Monday.
The Buccaneers are practicing at Tulane University this week after traveling to New Orleans early to avoid Hurricane Milton. The Buccaneers and Saints play on Sunday in the Superdome.
Brown landed on injured reserve just three days before the start of the regular season after suffering an injury to his ribs on the practice field. He played in all three preseason games and recorded six tackles, a tackle for loss, a quarterback hit and a pass defensed. Brown used a strong training camp to make the active roster despite only signing with the Buccaneers on May 22.
Brown (6-5, 300) was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams out of Northwester in the fifth-round in 2021. After spending his rookie season on the Rams' practice squad, he appeared in 12 games with three starts over the 2022-23 campaigns, recording 14 tackles and a pass defensed. Brown signed with the San Francisco 49ers this past February but was waived in May before heading to Tampa.
