As has become the norm, the Bucs’ injury report is a long one
It’s becoming a regular thing to see the Bucs’ injury report come out and the list is rather extensive. This week, there are plenty of names that did not participate on Wednesday while a few names that did participate were a surprise.
Those that sat out the practice include Julio Jones (knee), Sean Murphy-Bunting (quad), Jaelon Darden (tooth), Russell Gage (ankle), Akiem Hicks (foot), Carl Nassib (illness), and Logan Ryan (foot).
Sean Murphy-Bunting has played defensive snaps each of the last two weeks, but he joined fellow cornerback Carlton Davis and safety Mike Edwards as members of the secondary that exited the game against the Atlanta Falcons in the second half due to injury. That, of course, was in addition to Logan Ryan being inactive due to his foot injury and Ryan is expected to miss again this week.
No surprise that Julio Jones was a no-go. Jones suffered a partial PCL tear in week one against the Cowboys and has been in and out of the lineup since. It would be best for the Bucs to hold him out – potentially put him on injured reserve – so that knee can heal up and he can be ready late in the season and for the playoffs.
Despite leaving each of the last two games with a hip injury, Carlton Davis was a full participant on Wednesday and looks to be on track to play against the Steelers. While the Steelers are dealing with some growing pains after handing the starting quarterback job over to rookie Kenny Pickett, they have some formidable pass catchers on the team including Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, and emerging rookie George Pickens.
Wide receiver Breshad Perriman (knee/hamstring) was back to a full participant on Wednesday as was tight end Cameron Brate. Limited were wide receiver Chris Godwin (hip/knee), safety Mike Edwards (elbow), and tackle Donovan Smith (elbow).
For the Steelers, they’re dealing with a laundry list of injuries as well. Tight end Pat Freiermuth suffered a concussion last week against the Bills and did not participate in practice on Wednesday. Other Steelers sitting out were defensive tackles Montravius Adams (hip) and Larry Ogunjobi (back), offensive lineman Mason Cole (foot), tight end Zach Gentry (knee), safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (knee), and cornerbacks Cameron Sutton (hamstring), Levi Wallace (concussion), and Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring).
Other players listed for the Steelers were wide receiver Diontae Johnson (hip – limited) and safety Terrell Edmunds (concussion – full).
The Bucs and Steelers will kick off in Acrisure Stadium at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday with the game being broadcast on FOX with Joe Davis and Daryl Johnston on the call. However, if the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies matchup in the NLDS reaches a game five, Davis will be replaced by Adam Amin.
You can check out the full injury report below;
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