When Tampa Bay plays the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night, safety Nolan Turner will be on the field as a member of the Buccaneers’ 53-player active roster for the first time.
The Bucs signed the former Vestavia Hills High School standout from their practice squad on Thursday. NFL teams playing on Monday and Thursday nights can make day-of-game transactions that are prohibited on Sundays.
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Turner joined the Buccaneers as an undrafted rookie in May.
Turner had played in the past two Tampa Bay games, getting on the field for 23 special-teams plays as a practice-squad elevation.
Each NFL team is allowed to elevate two practice-squad members to active status for each game. But a player can be elevated only twice in a season, and Turner could not play again off the practice squad for the Buccaneers.
Turner could be needed on defense against the Ravens.
Tampa Bay safety Logan Ryan is on injured reserve, and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. and cornerbacks Carlton Davis, a former Auburn standout, and Sean Murphy-Bunting won’t play in Thursday night’s game because of injuries. That left the Bucs with five available defensive backs before promoting Turner.
The change in status from practice-squad to active-roster member will boost Turner’s weekly pay by about 340 percent.
Tampa Bay had an opening on its 53-player active roster after putting former Auburn linebacker K.J. Britt on injured reserve because of an ankle ailment on Wednesday.
The Bucs and Ravens will square off at 7:15 p.m. CDT Thursday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
Turner received second-team All-State recognition in the athlete slot as a Vestavia Hills senior as he intercepted five passes and caught four touchdown passes for the Rebels in 2015. Turner went to Clemson, the only Power 5 program to offer him a scholarship.
At Clemson, Turner played for five seasons after a redshirt year in 2016. The safety appeared in 65 games with the Tigers, and the American Football Coaches Association’s All-American second team for the 2020 season included Turner.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
