The Tampa Bay Buccaneers activated quarterback Easton Stick and running back Josh Williams from the practice squad on Saturday, making both players eligible to suit up for the team's Week Six game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
The weekly elevation process allows teams to activate up to two practice squad players for each game. By utilizing both of those options in Week Six, the Buccaneers have increased their game day roster to 55 players for their matchup with the Steelers. They will be able to keep 48 of those player active for the game, naming seven inactives prior to kickoff.
Each player on the practice squad can be elevated up to three times during the regular season and an unlimited amount of times in the postseason. After the game, elevated players automatically revert to the practice squad without having to pass through waivers. This is the third and final elevation for Stick and the second for Williams, who was also called up in Week One.
Stick will give the Buccaneers a second active quarterback behind Jalon Daniels, who will be making his third start in place of the injured Baker Mayfield. Mayfield, who suffered a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand in Week Three against Minnesota, did not practice this week and was ruled out for the game on Friday.
Stick was signed to the Buccaneers' practice squad on August 31 but he has prior experience in Offensive Coordinator Zac Robinson's system, as the two were together last season with the Atlanta Falcons. A fifth-round pick by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2019, Stick has appeared in a total of six games with four starts, completing 111 of 174 passes (63.8%) for 1,129 yards, three touchdowns, one interception and an 85.7 passer rating.
Williams has been on the Bucs' practice squad since just after the roster cutdown to 53 players. He made Tampa Bay's active roster as an undrafted rookie last season but only appeared in three games, logging four carries for 11 yards and five kickoff returns for 129 yards. His elevation coincides with the Bucs listing running back Sean Tucker as questionable on Friday's injury report due to a quad ailment. Williams played against Cincinnati in Week One when Tucker was out due to a hamstring strain and saw action on special teams, returning one kickoff for 47 yards. That is the longest kickoff return for the Buccaneers so far this season.
The practice squad elevation option was introduced as part of the new collective bargaining agreement in 2020. 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.
