Buccaneers activate Ryan Smith, waive Demone Harris

After serving his four game suspension, Ryan Smith has officially been activated by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; the team has waived Demone Harris in exchange.

Ahead of tomorrow’s divisional matchup with the New Orleans Saints, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have activated cornerback Ryan Smith. As a subsequent move to make room on the roster for Smith, the Bucs have waived pass rusher Demone Harris.

Sunday will be Smith’s first sight of action in the 2019 season after being suspended for the first four games of the season for violating the league’s illegal substance policy. He comes back at a good time for the Buccaneers as they look to move to 2-0 in the division and get on the right sie of .500 for the first time since early 2018.

While the defense, and even the secondary for that matter, have not been playing terribly (ranking 16th in the league), adding Smith back into the lineup will give defensive coordinator Todd Bowles more flexibility in the secondary. For the most part, the Buccaneers have been starting Vernon Hargreaves on the outside, and M.J. Stewart in the nickel; Stewart has been struggling to start the year, and Smith could give the pewter and red secondary a boost.

More from The Pewter Plank

• Devin White posts cryptic message to Lavonte David on Twitter
• ESPN predicts surprising outcome to Devin White trade saga
• Updated Buccaneers depth chart after signing two players from rookie minicamp
• Todd Bowles sends clear message about Baker Mayfield’s role with Bucs
• The Athletic is wrong about Bucs one ‘must-watch’ game in 2023

Smith is entering into the last year of his contract with the Buccaneers after being a day-three selection of the team back in 2016. He now has 12 games left to prove that he belongs in Tampa for at least another season; if not, then Smith will be looking elsewhere to restart his career in the 2020 season.

After being selected in the fourth round of the 2016 draft, Smith has gone to start 16 games for the Bucs over the last three seasons, appearing in all but three games in his career. Smith tallied his first interception last season for the Bucs, has knocked down an additional 11 passes, forced three fumbles, recorded one tackle for loss, and tallied 81 total solo tackles.

Can Ryan Smith help out this secondary that finds itself about middle of the road in the league, or will he find himself contributing primarily on Special Teams? Regardless, the Bucs have another cornerback at their disposal to deploy in tomorrow’s game against the Saints.