Bucs Activate 1 Player, Elevate Another For Falcons Game

The Bucs have announced two moves leading up to their Sunday matchup with the Atlanta Falcons. Wide receiver Rakim Jarrett has been activated from injured reserve where he has spent the entirety of the regular season up to this point. Tampa Bay also elevated practice squad quarterback Michael Pratt to for the game. This is Pratt’s first elevation of the year.

Bucs WR Rakim Jarrett – Photo by: USA Today

The activation of Jarrett comes at the perfect time as the team just put starting wide receiver Chris Godwin on Injured reserve following an ankle dislocation he suffered at the end of the Bucs week seven tilt with the Baltimore Ravens. Fellow starting receiver Mike Evans is expected to also miss multiple games due to a hamstring strain.

Head coach Todd Bowles said earlier this week the team his hopeful Evans can return following the Bucs’ Week 11 bye. Receiver Kameron Johnson is also currently on injured reserve putting a significant strain on the team’s depth at the position.

Jarrett was originally an undrafted free agent who signed with the Bucs as a rookie in 2023. He impressed the team enough to make the opening day roster last year and played in every game until suffering a season-ending injury in week 11. Over that time, splitting reps as the Bucs No. 4 receiver he caught four of his seven targets for 60 yards. His final catch of the season was his biggest, a 41-yard grab against the San Francisco 49ers.

With the injuries to Evans and Godwin and a lock of proven talent ahead of him, Jarrett has a chance to carve out a bigger role for himself over the next month.

Bucs Elevate Rookie Quarterback

Bucs QB Michael Pratt – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs also made a much more surprising move in elevating practice squad quarterback Michael Pratt. Neither starting quarterback Baker Mayfield or his backup Kyle Trask were listed on this week’s injury report.

Most likely this move means that Pratt is drawing interest from other clubs around the league about possibly signing him to their active roster and this move helps to stave off those attempts for at least a week with a pay bump for one week. Pratt joined the Bucs after getting cut by the Packers just prior to the season starting. Pratt was a seventh-round pick for Green Bay in the 2024 NFL draft.

Pratt is an intriguing prospect who received a third-fourth round grade from The Athletic’s Dane Brugler in his annual draft guide, The Beast. Brugler wrote of Pratt at the time, “Pratt might not have the high-level physical traits to carry and NFL offense, but you don’t see panic in his game, and he has a natural sense for where to go with the football. He projects as a quality NFL backup with starting upside in the right role.”

With Trask in a contract year there is no guarantee he will be back for the 2025 season. If Pratt can develop into Brugler’s vision for him, the Bucs could have their backup quarterback for the next two years in house already, checking off one need on their upcoming offseason list.