Bucs Sign Safety, Elevate 2 For Ravens Game

Hit hard by injuries the Bucs are adding some reinforcements for Thursday Night’s game against the Ravens. According to Greg Auman of the Athletic, the Bucs are signing safety Nolan Turner to the active roster. In addition they have also elevated rookies Don Gardner at cornerback and J.J. Russell at inside linebacker.

Antoine Winfield Jr. (concussion), Carlton Davis (hip), Sean Murphy-Bunting (quad) and K.J. Britt (injured reserve) are all sidelined for the prime time tilt. The secondary was already without Logan Ryan, who is on injured reserve with a foot injury, and recently released Kenny Young who was the teams back up inside linebacker.

Rookie corner Zyon McCollum and linebacker Olakunle Fatukasi are the next men up, but the depth is thin behind them. The Bucs also need to replace the special teams contributions of Davis, Murphy-Bunting and Britt and these moves will help in that area as well.

Turner, Gardner and Russell joined the Bucs as undrafted free agents following the 2022 NFL Draft. All three showed flashes during camp and consistently made plays. Turner was elevated for the previous two games and had one elevation left on the year.

However, the move of Britt to injured reserve opened a roster spot and the Bucs elected to sign him rather than burn his final elevation. For Gardner and Russell it marks the first action they will get in their career. With six players already ruled out its a near certainty both will play in their first NFL game. In his two elevations, Turner logged 23 snaps on special teams and has yet to record an stat.