The Tampa Bay Buccaneers activated rookie linebacker Caden Fordham from the practice squad on Saturday, making him eligible to suit up for the team's Week Seven game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
The weekly elevation process allows teams to activate up to two practice squad players for each game. By utilizing one of those options in Week Seven, the Buccaneers have increased their game day roster to 54 players for their matchup with the Panthers. They will be able to keep 48 of those players active for the game, naming six 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 second elevation for Fordham, who was also called up in Week Four.
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 gives the Buccaneers a fourth off-ball linebacker against the Panthers in the wake of Christian Rozeboom landing on injured reserve this week with a finger injury. When he was elevated for the Bucs game against the Packers in Week Four, Fordham played four snaps on special teams.
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.
