Charles Sims officially activated

Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie running back Charles Sims was eligible to be activated off of the short-term injured reserve for this week’s game against the Cleveland Browns, and the Buccaneers were always expected to activate him. Even though it seems to have occurred a couple of hours later than we expected, ESPN’s Adam Caplan reports that the Buccaneers have indeed taken the West Virginia Mountaineers product off of the short-term IR this afternoon.

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The Bucs appear to be high on Sims, and I’m sure former Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith sees some Matt Forte in him. Sims drew comparisons to the Bears well-rounded star back during the pre-draft process, as he is a mature pass protector and was the best pass-catching back in this year’s class. He seems like a solid enough player, and he could easily become the Buccaneers lead back. The Bucs seem to have soured on Doug Martin, and he was nearly shipped out at the deadline (instead, the Bucs traded their earlier first-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, moving Mark Barron to the St. Louis Rams).

I wouldn’t expect Sims to have a big role tomorrow against the Browns, as it would be wiser for Smith and the Bucs to ease their rookie, whom they have clear hopes for in the future, in his debut game. But a big role for Sims isn’t out of the question this week, and he will be given every opportunity to usurp Bobby Rainey and Martin in coming weeks. Martin is listed doubtful on the injury report and won’t be out there tomorrow, so Sims should get some nice touches but will likely get less snaps than the more experienced Rainey.