The Buccaneers will wrap up their practice week on Friday and that will likely mean another day of significant work for a couple of their practice squad players.
In Thursday’s pool report from Bucs practice, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times noted that the team has been using wide receiver Cyril Grayson to stand in for Tyreek Hill when preparing their defense for the Chiefs. Grayson is about the same size as Hill and Bucs head coach Bruce Arians noted that he runs a 4.25 40-yard-dash.
That speed made Grayson an All-American track athlete at LSU. He did not play college football, but signed with the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He’s played in five games for the Bucs over the last two seasons and has one catch for three yards and one kickoff return for 15 yards.
Hill isn’t the only player the Bucs are trying to prepare for. Tight end Travis Kelce’s mimic is Codey McElroy, who played professional baseball before walking onto the Oklahoma State basketball and football teams. He caught one pass for 30 yards in his only regular season appearance last year.
Neither player is likely to be in uniform on Sunday, but their practice efforts will likely be recognized if the Bucs defense can come up big in the Super Bowl.
