Buccaneers: Defense hamstrung before final game of season
By Rob Leeds
After going the majority of the 2020 season without any issues due to COVID-19, the Buccaneers are without several starters in their final game.
It was bound to happen. The Buccaneers were blessed with good COVID luck for the majority of the season, so it is only fitting that the luck would run out at the worst possible time. Such is the life for a fan of the Bucs.
In an extremely unfortunate series of events, Devin White and Shaquil Barrett were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list yesterday, and they will be out for the game tomorrow. This also leaves their status for the first playoff game uncertain.
In addition to White and Barrett, backup nose tackle Steve McLendon is also out for the same reason. While not playing the same role as the previously-mentioned players, his loss will also hurt whenever the Buccaneers line up in a 3-4.
As if the news couldn’t get worse, Carlton Davis is also a major question mark for the game tomorrow. The Buccaneer defense is getting stripped down to the bare bones, and this is one of the worst possible times to deal with this situation.
Tampa Bay is a good team and should still be able to overcome losses such as this through stellar offense, but the Bucs will also have to rely on several depth pieces if they hope to overcome the Falcons tomorrow.