Buccaneers: Sean Murphy-Bunting could return this season

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians says that cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting will not need surgery on his injured, opening the door for a potential return to the Buccaneers in 2021.

During the Buccaneers week one victory over the Dallas Cowboys, Murphy-Bunting suffered a pretty gruesome injury to his arm whilst attempting to make a tackle, knocking him out of the rest of the game. We won’t show a photo or clip of it here, but rest assured a human arm and elbow is not supposed to bend the way that it did.

Murphy-Bunting’s injury was one of those plays that make you cringe as a fan, and look away from the screen. Fortunately, it seems like the cornerback will be ok.

When asked about the starting corner’s current condition, coach Arians stated that surgery will not be needed for Murphy-Bunting, which would have knocked him out for the entirety of the 2021 season had he had to go under the knife.

Now, it should be noted that the fact that surgery isn’t needed automatically means that Murphy-Bunting will return to the Buccaneers starting defensive lineup. It simply opens the door to the possibility of a return. It still looks like it may be a long shot.

That being said it should also be noted that when Vita Vea was injured last season, his return was also seen as unlikely and look what happened. Now obviously these situations are entirely different when it comes to injuries and the fact that Vea is a freak of nature, but the overall point stands that you should never say never.

While it’s now possible that Sean Murphy-Bunting can potentially return to the Bucs in 2021, the fact that surgery is not needed and the injury isn’t as bad as it initially looked is the important thing here. If he returns or not, thankfully the injury wasn’t worse. The Buccaneers secondary may be banged up for now, but there is a glimmer of hope going forward.