The Buccaneers elevated linebacker Caden Fordham and quarterback Easton Stick from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against the Packers, the team announced.
This is the first elevation for both Fordham and Stick.
Stick will serve as the backup to rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels, who is set to make his NFL starting debut in place of Baker Mayfield.
Mayfield will miss at least three weeks with a dislocated right thumb.
Stick signed with the Buccaneers’ practice squad on Aug. 31.
Fordham signed with the Buccaneers as a rookie free agent in May and initially made the team’s 53-player roster. The Bucs, though, waived him Sept. 2 after claiming cornerback Kevin Knowles off waivers from Kansas City. Fordham then signed back to the practice squad.
Bucs Clips
It’s the year of the backup quarterback, so far.
Through three weeks, six quarterbacks who didn’t start in Week 1 have since started six games. They’re collectively 6-0.
Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz started and won at Chicago in Week 2. Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock started and won at Arizona in Week 2. Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. started and won at Green Bay in Week 3. Giants quarterback Jameis Winston started and won vs. the Titans in Week 3. Washington quarterback Marcus Mariota started and won vs. the Seahawks in Week 6. And Bears quarterback Case Keenum started and won vs. the Eagles in Week 3.
In Week 4, two more quarterbacks who didn’t start in Week 1 are expected to start their first games of the season: Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent vs. the Jets and Buccaneers quarterback Jalon Daniels vs. the Packers.
The situation shows the importance of having two, if not three, quarterbacks who can be counted on to play, and play well. A game here or a game there in the absence of the starting quarterback could eventually make the difference between making the playoffs or missing the bus.
Week 4 is here, and five teams are still looking for their first victory of 2026.
The Dolphins, Texans, Titans, Chargers, and Buccaneers are all 0-3. Only seven teams (most recently, the 2025 Texans) have made the playoffs after an 0-3 start.
None of the five teams play each other this weekend, which means all five could still be winless come Monday. Any that land at 0-4 will be facing a steep climb to the postseason.
Only one team in NFL history has qualified for the playoffs after starting 0-4. In 1992, the Chargers under first-year coach Bobby Ross turned it around and secured the AFC West crown. The Chargers won 11 of their 12 final games of the season.
The Chargers advanced through the wild-card round with a 17-0 win over the Chiefs, who had swept the Chargers during the regular season. The next week, the Dolphins eliminated the Chargers with a 31-0 blowout.
With 17 games and seven playoff spots per conference, it’s easier than ever for a team to turn it around after an 0-4 start. Still, many 0-4 teams start that way for a reason; they’re not very good. The 1992 Chargers were much better than their early-season record indicated, and they made it all the way to the final eight.
The Buccaneers will have linebacker Yaya Diaby and wide receiver Chris Godwin in the lineup as they try for their first win of the season against the Packers on Sunday.
Diaby missed Wednesday’s practice with calf and shoulder injuries, but got on the field Thursday and moved up to full practice participation on Friday. Godwin (ankle) returned to a full workload on Thursday and neither player has an injury designation for this weekend.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield (right thumb) was ruled out early in the week, so rookie Jalon Daniels will be making his first NFL start. The Bucs also ruled out linebacker Rueben Bain (groin, shoulder), tight end Ko Kieft (elbow), and cornerback Benjamin Morrison (quad).
Linebacker SirVocea Dennis (calf, personal), defensive lineman Rakeem Nuñez-Roches (ankle, foot), and cornerback Jacob Parrish (personal) are all listed as questionable to face Green Bay.
Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin returned to practice on Thursday.
Godwin has an ankle injury, but his chances of playing against the Packers look better now that he was a full participant in his first practice work of the week. The Bucs also got linebacker Yaya Diaby (calf, shoulder) back, although he was listed as a limited participant.
Linebacker Reuben Bain (groin, shoulder), linebacker SirVocea Dennis (calf), tight end Ko Kieft (elbow), quarterback Baker Mayfield (right thumb), and cornerback Jacob Parrish (personal) remained out of practice.
Running back Bucky Irving (glute), cornerback Benjamin Morrison (quad), defensive lineman Rakeem Nuñez-Roches (ankle, foot), defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson (rest), and defensive back Keionte Scott (toe) were limited participants. Linebacker Josiah Trotter (shoulder) moved from limited to full participation.
There were 10 quarterbacks selected in the 2026 draft, but the first rookie quarterback to start a game during the 2026 season will not be part of that group.
Baker Mayfield’s dislocated thumb has put Jalon Daniels in line to start for the Buccaneers against the Packers on Sunday. Daniels was not selected after spending six years and appearing in 49 games at Kansas, but he beat out Jake Browning for the backup job this summer and will now get a chance to run an NFL offense before any of his peers.
On Wednesday, Daniels said Mayfield advised him to “just stay composed, play as yourself, don’t try to be anybody else besides yourself” once he is out on the field and Daniels said his time at Kansas has taught him that he has to be proactive rather than reactive.
“I think that one thing I learned in college was, you can’t be the thermometer, you have to be the thermostat,” Daniels said, via a transcript from the team. “You have to be someone who comes in and is able to set the temperature of the room, not test the room and try to be able to blend in with it. If a team is low, I have to be able to pick it up to be able to make sure that they’re even. If we’re high, then I have to be able to be low to be able to make sure that we’re even. I try to be as even-keel as possible. I think that being able to go out there and have that even-keeled feel, the team around you feels that.”
An 0-3 start has led to a lot of talk about hot seats in Tampa, so the best thing Daniels could do in his first start is cool things down by helping the team win a game. That’s a big ask, but so is going from undrafted to starting a game a month into your rookie season and Daniels has already pulled that off.
The Buccaneers know they won’t have quarterback Baker Mayfield against the Packers this Sunday and they were missing a number of other players at practice on Wednesday.
Wide receiver Chris Godwin sat out with an ankle injury. Godwin has 10 catches for 111 yards so far this season. His absence comes a day after the Bucs placed wideout Jalen McMillan on injured reserve.
Two of the team’s top pass rushers were also on the sideline. Yaya Diaby (calf, shoulder) and Rueben Bain (groin, shoulder) were both listed as out on the first injury report of the week. Bain did not play in last Sunday’s loss to the Vikings.
Tight end Ko Kieft (elbow), defensive tackle Rakeem Nuñez-Roches (ankle, foot), and cornerback Jacob Parrish (personal) also missed practice. Linebacker SirVocea Dennis (calf), running back Bucky Irving (glute), defensive back Keionte Scott (toe), and linebacker Josiah Trotter (shoulder) were limited participants.
Tampa Bay has announced a series of roster moves on Wednesday morning.
The Buccaneers have placed receiver Jalen McMillan on injured reserve after he suffered a knee injury during Sunday’s loss to the Vikings. McMillan is reportedly expected to be out for 6-to-8 weeks.
After catching 37 passes for 461 yards with eight touchdowns as a rookie in 2024, McMillan has been limited to just six games over the last two seasons due to injury.
Additionally, Tampa Bay announced the previously reported moves of signing safety Ifeatu Melifonwu to the 53-man roster off of the club’s practice squad and signing quarterback Brett Rypien to the practice squad.
Jalon Daniels is expected to start at QB with Baker Mayfield sidelined for at least three weeks with a dislocated right thumb. Rypien joins Easton Stick on the practice squad.
The Buccaneers are signing quarterback Brett Rypien to their practice squad, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Rypien visited the Bucs on Tuesday.
The team won’t have Baker Mayfield for a minimum of three weeks as he recovers from a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand. Undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels will start Sunday against the Packers.
The Bucs are expected to sign Easton Stick to the 53-player roster to serve as Daniels’ backup.
Rypien, the nephew of Super Bowl XXVI MVP Mark Rypien, was with the Rams in 2023 when Bucs offensive coordinator Zac Robinson was the quarterbacks coach.
Rypien has been with nine other NFL teams and has appeared in games with the Broncos, Rams and Bengals. He has played 11 games, going 2-2 as a starter.
The Buccaneers have brought one of their key special teams players to the active roster.
Tampa Bay has signed Ifeatu Melifonwu to the 53-man roster from the club’s practice squad.
Melifonwu has appeared in all three games for the Bucs so far as a practice squad elevation. He has been on the field for 54 percent of the team’s special teams snaps.
A Lions third-round pick in 2021, Melifonwu has appeared in 56 games with 22 starts for Detroit, Miami, and Tampa Bay.
