The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had an open spot on their roster and their linebacker depth chart, and they brought back a familiar face to fill both: Orie Lemon.
Lemon, who has already had two stints on the active roster and one on the practice squad in Tampa this season, fills the spot created by the suspension of starting middle linebacker Kwon Alexander. The Buccaneers are actually running seven deep in their linebacking corps at the moment after the recent signing of Adarius Glanton and promotion of rookie Josh Keyes from the practice squad.
The 6-1, 235-pound Lemon played in 10 games for the Buccaneers last year, starting three at strongside linebacker in the season's final month. Tampa Bay signed him off of Kansas City's practice squad in October, believing his previous experience in a similar defense in Dallas would allow him to contribute quickly. He finished the 2014 season with 17 tackles, five of them for losses, while also contributing six stops on special teams.
Lemon went to training camp with the Buccaneers this past summer and played in one preseason game but was released on August 28. He returned to the team in September and played in the Bucs' Week Two win over the Saints before moving to the practice squad in Week Three. Lemon's second stint on the active roster ran from Weeks 5-9 before his most recent release on November 18. In all, Lemon has appeared in six games for the Buccaneers this season, with all of his playing time coming on special teams. He has two kick-coverage tackles.
Originally an undrafted free agent signing with the Dallas Cowboys out of Oklahoma State in 2011, Lemon played parts of three seasons for the Cowboys, getting into eight games from 2011-13.
