Former Tennessee Vol earns a golden opportunity across the country after a major injury on Monday Night Football
The VFL is heading to Tampa Bay.
Former Tennessee Vols defensive lineman Elijah Simmons didn’t hear his name called in the 2025 NFL Draft. He was still able to catch on with a team after the draft, signing with the Arizona Cardinals. Simmons battled hard through the preseason and was considered a dark horse candidate to make their 53-man roster but came up just short, signing with their practice squad instead.
However, the NFL is often about second chances elsewhere, and an opportunity came along for Simmosn this week.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers team reporter Scott Smith revealed that Simmons has been signed off the Cardinals’ practice squad by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs placed starting DL Calijah Kancey on injured reserve after suffering a pectoral injury on Monday Night Football against the Houston Texans.
Former Tennessee DL Elijah Simmons signed off the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Kancey went down early in the Bucs’ 20-19 last second win over the Texans with an announced pectoral injury. The team conducted an MRI the following day, and the result confirmed the injury would require season-ending surgery to fix.
Because Simmons was signed off the Cardinals’ practice squad, it means he has to be signed to the Bucs’ active 53-man roster. As such, it’s a promotion for the former Vol and a closer opportunity to see an NFL field this year.
The Bucs will be looking to a pair of veterans in Logan Hall and Greg Gaines as well as fellow rookie (and fellow Elijah) Elijah Roberts to pick up the slack for Kancey, who led the team in sacks last year with 7.5 and had become a crucial part of the defending NFC South champion’s defense.
We’ll see if Roberts is active on game day, as the team can only have 48 players active on Gameday out of their 53-man roster total. But regardless, the former Tennessee Vol’s chances of getting in the mix on Sundays increased substantially.
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