Buccaneers Elevate Vi Jones, Marquez Callaway for MNF vs. Chiefs

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers activated linebacker Vi Jones and wide receiver Marquez Callaway from the practice squad on Monday afternoon, both him eligible to play in the team’s Monday Night Football matchup with the Chiefs in Kansas City.

The NFL introduced the practice squad elevation option in 2020, allowing teams to activate up to two practice squad players for each game. The elevations of Jones and Callaway will give them 55 available men to play against the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. They will be able to keep 48 of those player active for the game, naming seven inactives prior to kickoff. For games played on Sunday, teams must make their elevations on Saturday by 4:00 p.m., but these moves can occur on the day of the game for contests played on other nights of the week.

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 Jones and Callaway.

Jones will have a chance to make his debut as a Buccaneer. Originally an undrafted free agent with the Seattle Seahawks in 2022, he got into three regular season games as a rookie, playing solely on special teams. Jones first joined the Buccaneers as a practice squad signee last September, and he went to training camp in Tampa this summer before landing back on the practice squad. The Bucs will have five off-ball linebackers available on Monday night, with Jones joining starters Lavonte David and K.J. Britt and reserves J.J. Russell and Antonio Grier.

Callaway could also see his first game action as a Buccaneer after signing to the team’s practice squad on October 16. Originally an undrafted free agent with New Orleans in 2020, he saw extensive action over the next four seasons, playing in 45 games with 17 starts and recording 83 receptions for 1,069 yards and seven touchdowns. Tampa Bay’s Week Nine injury report includes three of the team’s six receivers, including Mike Evans, who has already been ruled out due to a hamstring injury suffered in Week Seven. In addition, Sterling Shepard and Jalen McMillan are both considered questionable to play on Monday night due to hamstring ailments.

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, particularly in regard to dealing with injuries.