Bucs Announce 2 Elevations For Wild Card Round vs. Commanders

The Bucs announced two elevations from the practice squad on Saturday afternoon ahead of Sunday’s NFC Wild Card matchup against the Commanders at Raymond James Stadium.

The first is veteran inside linebacker Deion Jones, who signed with Tampa Bay’s practice squad back in December. The ninth-year pro, who was originally drafted by the Falcons in 2016 and starred for Atlanta early in his career, suited up in Weeks 17 and 18 for the Bucs, playing special teams and recording one tackle.

Bucs WR Tanner Knue – Photo by: USA Today

While he may only see time on special teams once again on Sunday night, Jones has some playoff experience to his name, starting five postseason games and totaling 33 tackles (with three for a loss), four passes defensed, a forced fumble and a quarterback hit.

The other elevation from the practice squad is rookie wide receiver Tanner Knue, who signed with the Bucs as an undrafted free agent last May and spent the offseason, training camp and preseason with the team before being released and eventually re-signing with the practice squad in October.

The Eastern Michigan product caught nine passes for 86 yards and a touchdown over three preseason games with Tampa Bay.

Jones stands a better chance of being active for Sunday night’s game than Knue does, but the important thing for both is that they at least get the opportunity to bring in a playoff game check. The Bucs have used practice squad elevations as rewards for players in the past, both in the regular season and the postseason. For example, in last year’s Wild Card Round, Tampa Bay elevated Jose Ramirez and Patrick Laird, and while both were inactive, they still earned playoff game checks.

Bucs Are Getting Healthier As Playoffs Begin

Bucs CB Jamel Dean – Photo by: Cliff Welch P/R

For the Bucs, Saturday’s announcement was more about who wasn’t elevated from the practice squad. The lack of elevations outside of Jones and Knue indicate that Tampa Bay is much healthier than it has been in recent weeks as it opens up the postseason at home on Sunday night. This, of course, falls in line with what head coach Todd Bowles said following Friday’s practice.

Bowles said that both cornerback Jamel Dean and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. would be good to go for Sunday’s game against the Commanders, while tight end Cade Otton was also trending in the right direction.

Dean left the Bucs’ 48-14 Week 17 win over the Panthers with a knee injury and missed the regular season finale against the Saints, but should be good to go for the Wild Card matchup against Washington. Winfield has missed the last four games of the regular season with a knee injury of his own, but he had a week full of full participation in practice, so he’s ready to return to action as well.

Otton, who has also been dealing with a knee injury and missed the final three games of the regular season, was a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice before logging two practices as a full participant on Thursday and Friday. He officially has a “questionable” tag heading into Sunday, but it sounds as if he’s on track to play.

Stay tuned to PewterReport.com for continued pregame coverage all throughout Sunday afternoon and into the evening, which is when full inactives lists for both teams will be released. Of course, stay tuned for in-game and postgame coverage as well.

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