Bucs Sign Rookie DL, Place Calijah Kancey On IR

Simmons, a 6-foot-1, 335-pound defensive lineman, was an undrafted free agent earlier this year. He signed with Arizona and went on to appear in all three of the team’s preseason games, recording 75 defensive snaps while totaling four tackles.

Simmons played his collegiate football at Tennessee, where he appeared in 55 games between 2020 and 2024. He logged eight starts in those 55 games and finished his Vols career with 59 tackles, seven tackles for loss, a half-sack and three passes defensed.

Simmons will wear No. 92 with the Bucs, which was last worn during the preseason by punter Riley Dixon. Of course, before that, Will Gholston was the longtime No. 92 in Tampa Bay.

Elijah Simmons Joins Bucs’ Efforts To Replace Calijah Kancey

There really is no replacing Calijah Kancey within this Bucs defense, but the reality is that life has to go on for the 2-0 Bucs. In Kancey’s absence, Logan Hall and rookie Elijah Roberts will see an uptick in their snap counts. Roberts is off to a promising start early in his NFL career, as he followed up his promising debut against Atlanta in Week 1 with a half-sack on Monday night against the Texans.

Outside of Hall and Roberts, the depth along the Bucs defensive line includes Greg Gaines and now Elijah Simmons. The timing of this signing is tough for the rookie, as Tampa Bay was already facing a short week leading into a 1:00 p.m. kickoff this Sunday after a Monday night game. Not only is there the matter of Simmons coming to Tampa from Arizona, but he’ll also be asked to get up to speed on Todd Bowles’ defense as soon as possible if he’s going to play a depth role for the team this season.

In the short term, you might see a practice squad elevation for this Sunday’s game against the Jets at Raymond James Stadium. C.J. Brewer, Adam Gotsis and Nash Hutmacher are the options on the Bucs’ practice squad, with Brewer likely being the best option given his extended experience as a depth piece within Bowles’ defense. He had a two-sack game against the Falcons last year, which just so happened to be the creamsicle game. This Sunday’s game isn’t a creamsicle game, but it will see the debut of Tampa Bay’s 1976 throwback uniforms.

Gotsis has a good case for a practice squad elevation in his own right, as he’s an established veteran with 126 games to his name between 2016 and 2024. He has played with the Broncos, Jaguars and Colts over the course of his NFL career and has totaled 10.5 sacks, 25 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries over those 126 games, 54 of which were starts.

While we wait to gather what type of role the team is envisioning for Elijah Simmons, we’ll see what the Bucs’ immediate plans are to fill out their defensive line depth come this weekend.