The Tampa Bay Buccaneers activated linebacker Caden Fordham and quarterback Easton Stick from the practice squad on Saturday, making both players eligible to suit up for their Week Four game against the Green Bay Packers 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 Four, the Buccaneers have increased their game day roster to 55 players for their matchup with the Packers. 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 first elevation for both Fordham and Stick.
Stick will serve as the backup to rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels, who is set to make his NFL starting debut in place of Baker Mayfield, ending the veteran's streak of 57 consecutive starts for the Buccaneers, postseason included. Mayfield dislocated the thumb on his right hand late in the Week Three contest with the Minnesota Vikings and is expected to miss a minimum of three weeks.
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.
Fordham signed with the Buccaneers as a rookie free agent in May and initially made the team's 53-man roster after the league-wide cutdown on August 30. However, the Buccaneers subsequently waived him on September 2 to create a spot for cornerback Kevin Knowles, who was claimed off waivers from Kansas City. Fordham was then signed back to the practice squad.
The North Carolina State product ranked second in the nation in 2025 with 143 tackles and was a third-team Associated Press All-America selection after also racking up 3.5 sacks, 10.0 tackles for loss, two interceptions, three passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. In three preseason games in August he recorded 10 tackles, two tackles for loss and a pass defensed on defense. He also stood out on special teams, leading all NFL players with four solo tackles in kick coverage. Fordham is likely to see action in the kick-and-return game on Sunday, especially if linebacker SirVocea Dennis is unable to play. Dennis was listed as questionable on the Buccaneers' Friday injury report due to a calf injury.
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.
