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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will activate defensive end Jacquies Smith from the Physically Unable to Perform list, reports Pewter Report. Head coach Dirk Koetter had already hinted that the pass-rusher could be on the initial 53-man roster, so this is not a total surprise.
Smith has yet to practice with the team, so it’s not clear when exactly he’ll be ready to play—probably not in week one, but definitely before week six, barring some setback. Had they kept him on PUP they would have lost him for the first six weeks at minimum.
Smith missed almost the entire 2016 season with a torn ACL, and suffered a setback in his recovery around the start of training camp that necessitated another surgery and prevented him from taking part in any offseason practice, at all.
Prior to those injury woes, Smith looked like an up-and-coming edge rusher who flashed the ability to beat offensive tackle with a speed rush. The Bucs hope Smith can rediscover that form quickly, because he and Noah Spence or the only explosive edge rushers the Bucs have on the roster.