The Bucs are making a pair of roster moves ahead of their Week 4 matchup with the Green Bay Packers, elevating quarterback Easton Stick and linebacker Caden Fordham for Sunday’s game.
Stick’s promotion comes at a time when Tampa Bay is dealing with Baker Mayfield’s thumb injury. He’ll back up rookie Jalon Daniels, giving the team another arm available for the game.
Stick joined the Bucs’ practice squad after the preseason, when the team moved on from Jake Browning. Tampa Bay wanted Browning back on the practice squad, but he refused.
Stick also arrives with familiarity in the system, having spent time on the Falcons’ practice squad last year under Bucs offensive coordinator Zac Robinson.
A former fifth-round pick by the Chargers in 2019, Stick has only limited NFL experience. Over the last 7+ years, he has started four games and appeared in two more.
The Bucs added veteran quarterback Brett Rypien to the practice squad earlier this week to bolster depth while Mayfield recovers, but he cannot be used on Sunday as the team’s emergency third-string quarterback. That spot requires a player to be on the active roster.
Fordham’s elevation gives Tampa Bay another option at linebacker and on special teams, where the Bucs may need help. Ko Kieft and Benjamin Morrison have both been ruled out, and the two players have combined for almost 100 special teams snaps. SirVocea Dennis is also a question mark after being listed as questionable on Friday’s injury report.
Fordham, an undrafted rookie out of North Carolina State, worked on almost all of those special teams units during the preseason, including kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage and field goal. If Dennis can’t go, Fordham could step into that role while also adding linebacker depth.
Dennis has been one of Tampa Bay’s core special teams players this season, finishing with 67 snaps and two tackles. He is one of three Bucs listed as questionable, along with defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Noches and cornerback Jaccob Parrish.
Both Stick and Fordham are being elevated for the first time this season, and each still has two elevations available.
In Other News...
Baker Mayfield Return Pressure Just Got Real For The Buccaneers
Baker Mayfields thumb injury has put the Buccaneers in an early-season bind, and the latest reporting suggests the timetable might be moving faster than expected. Mayfield dislocated the thumb on his throwing hand in Week 3 and was originally projected to sit at least three weeks, but now theres a chance he could be back after missing only two games.
Jalon Daniels has been handed the starting job in Mayfields absence, which gives Tampa Bay a short-term answer but also raises the pressure on the veteran quarterbacks recovery. For the Buccaneers, the next stretch is about more than simply getting by without Mayfield, because how quickly he can return could shape the teams rhythm and the stability of the offense. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Head Into Week 4 With One Huge Question Under Center
As Tampa Bay gets ready for its Week 4 matchup with Green Bay, the biggest storyline is under center, where rookie Jalon Daniels is in line to start because Baker Mayfield is dealing with an injury. Its the kind of pivot that changes the feel of a game week in a hurry, especially for a Buccaneers offense that now has to adjust its timing, its protections and its overall plan on the fly.
Freddie Boston of Lombardi Ave pointed out that the Packers bring their own issues into the game, with an offensive line that has been under pressure and a couple of recent veteran additions that suggest Green Bay is trying to stabilize things quickly. Even so, Tampa Bay will be watching the defensive side closely too, because this matchup could come down to which group handles the uncertainty better while the Bucs wait for clarity on their quarterback situation. [Read more 🡒]
Baker Mayfield Debate Just Got More Uncomfortable For Buccaneers Fans
Baker Mayfields latest stretch has only made the Buccaneers quarterback conversation harder to ignore. Tampa Bay is off to an 0-3 start, and Mayfield is now expected to miss time because of injury, leaving a team that entered the season with real expectations suddenly trying to steady itself while the comparison game around its starter keeps getting louder.
Meanwhile, Deshaun Watson and the Browns are giving that debate a very different backdrop. Cleveland is 3-1, Watson has shown improved play early in the season, and the contrast with the Bucs situation only sharpens the old arguments about the Browns decision to move on from Mayfield and invest in Watson instead. Add in the difference in contract value, and it is easy to see why this storyline is landing a little more uncomfortably in Tampa Bay right now. [Read more 🡒]