The Tampa Bay Buccaneers activated offensive lineman Michael Jordan from the practice squad on Monday, making him eligible to play in that evening's game against the Houston Texans. Jordan started the Buccaneers' season-opening win at left guard against Atlanta after a similar game-day elevation.
The NFL introduced the practice squad elevation option in 2020, allowing teams to activate up to two practice squad players for each game. By utilizing one such option in Week Two, the Buccaneers have increased their game day roster to 54 players for their matchup with the Texans. They will be able to keep 48 of those player 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. As noted, this is Jordan's second elevation of 2025.
The Buccaneers ruled out All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs on Saturday, even though he returned to practice this week in a limited fashion. Thus, they will presumably field the same reworked offensive line lineup they debuted against the Falcons, with Jordan playing left guard. If that is the plan, he would step in for Ben Bredeson, who will slide over to the center spot with second-year man Graham Barton moving from there out to left tackle.
Including last week's game, Jordan has started 41 regular-season NFL games, most of them at left guard. He has previously started contests for Cincinnati, Cleveland and New England, most recently logging 12 starts for the Patriots in 2024.
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.
