Buccaneers Sign Veteran Running Back to the Practice Squad

Bernard hurt his knee against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, prompting these moves. It is significant to note that Bernard is on the three week IR on and not the season-ending IR, so he can come back for the regular season finale against the Carolina Panthers if he is ready. 

Either way, the Bucs have just three healthy running backs on their active roster, so the addition of Barner to the practice squad makes sense. The move enables the Bucs to call him up if he's needed and also ensures they'll have at least three healthy running backs on Sundays if Leonard Fournette, Ronald Jones II, or Ke'Shawn Vaughn were to miss any time. The Bucs can call Barner up twice before having to sign him to the 53-man roster, so it won't be a huge surprise if that happens over the next three weeks.

Barner was the Bucs' kick returner at certain points during the 2020 season. He returned 13 punts for 75 yards with a long of 21 and he returned seven kickoffs for 167 yards, which came out to 23.9 yards per return, on average.

The former Panther, Eagle, and Falcon was suspended four games for violating the NFL's PED policy in October. The Bucs re-signed Barner to the active roster in December, but a groin injury forced them to move him to injured reserve, where he remained through the Bucs' Super Bowl run. Barner and the team parted ways after the season.