Because the Bucs play the Falcons in Atlanta on a short week, the NFL allows teams that play on Thursday Night Football to elevate up to two players from their practice squad by 4:00 p.m. just four hours and 15 minutes prior to kickoff. As expected, Tampa Bay elevated a wide receiver with both Trey Palmer and rookie Jalen McMillan out due to a concussion and a hamstring strain, respectively.

The Bucs have two wide receivers on their practice squad and elevated Cody Thompson for Thursday’s game in Atlanta. Tampa Bay now has five receivers available in starters Mike Evans and Chris Godwin along with veteran Sterling Shepard, who was signed from the practice squad to the active roster this week, in addition to undrafted free agent Kameron Johnson as well as Thompson. With offensive coordinator Liam Coen deploying a lot of three-receiver sets, the team couldn’t go into Thursday’s game with just four active receivers.

For Thompson, it’s his first elevation of the year. Practice squad players can be elevated up to three times from the practice squad to the active roster.

Bucs Punter Jake Camarda Will Be Inactive For Second Straight Game

Bucs P Trenton Gill – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The other practice squad elevation is punter Trenton Gill, who was activated for the first time in last week’s 33-16 win over the Eagles at Tampa Bay. This means that Jake Camarda, the team’s starting punter the last two years and a fourth-round pick in 2022, will be inactive for a second straight game.

The Bucs have been unhappy with the consistency that Camarda displayed in training camp, the preseason and in the first few games of the 2024 season. The team hasn’t cut Camarda yet because it wants to see Gill punt consistently for a few weeks before making that move official. Tampa Bay has been unhappy with his hang time and distance.

“A little bit of both at times,” Bowles said. “At times, he can boom one. At times, he’s inconsistent. He’s got to be more consistent.”

Camarda’s net average through three games is a paltry 39.8 yards, and Trenton Gill was brought in to Tampa Bay’s practice squad a few weeks ago. He averaged 37.4 yards per punt on four punts last week in his Bucs debut, but didn’t allow a single returned punt and also pinned one inside the 20-yard line with no touchbacks.