The Tampa Bay Buccaneers need the cavalry back as soon as possible if they want to save their season, as they stand at 6-5 and in danger of losing the NFC South to the Carolina Panthers. They need as many injured players back as they can get, and one of those players made his first appearance at practice in quite some time.
Tampa Bay signed Haason Reddick in the offseason on a $14 million contract, but he’s been out of action since Week 7, when he injured his knee and ankle against the Detroit Lions. Now, though, he’s back in the building, as he showed up at practice on Wednesday as the Buccaneers get ready to face off against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

Reddick being back at practice is a big win for the Buccaneers, because when it comes to their pass rush, they can use all the help they can get.
Despite netting just 1.5 sacks over his first six weeks as a Buccaneer, Reddick contributed a pressure rate of 15.1%, per SumerSports, and Tampa Bay’s pass rush has been affected overall in numerous areas. Tampa Bay’s sack rate has gone down from 6.78% to 5.53% since Reddick’s absence, and their hurry rate has gone from 30.08% to 22.61%. Tampa Bay’s pass rush has been a big reason why their defense has given up almost 100 points in three weeks, so the team will need him back sooner rather than later.

The hope is that the Bucs can get him back against the Cardinals — the first team Reddick played for in the NFL — but his health will be the most important. Reddick sprained his ankle and suffered a knee injury against the Lions, but if he’s back at walkthrough, there’s a good chance he could be playing for the Buccaneers this Sunday at 1 p.m. against his former team.