Buccaneers suffer another major injury based on inexcusable decision

What were the Buccaneers thinking last night? 

The Buccaneers escaped Foxborough last night with a win, but it wasn’t pretty. Wars of attrition rarely are. The weather didn’t make matters easier for the Patriots or the depleted Buccaneers, and Tampa lost even more of their key players to injury in pursuit of the victory.

The worst of these losses is Carlton Davis. While everything is still up in the air, Bruce Arians has at least come out and said that Davis will be out “for a while.”

Many fans kept up with Davis leading up to the game. The “questionable” status before the game likely played a hand in giving Richard Sherman the start, and losing Davis would mean the Bucs would be without all of their starting corners from Week 1 before the Week 4 game even began.

Fortunately, Davis suited up, but at what cost? Davis went down with what looks like a severe injury, and the Bucs are currently without all of their starters at the most important defensive position.

The Cowboys came out and committed to the pass even when everyone was healthy. Imagine what teams will do now, knowing Richard Sherman is the starter with little to no time in practice.

The worst part of the situation is how Davis was injured. Why the Buccaneers thought it wise to put their best corner, who is dealing with an injury, on special teams is beyond this writer. Some fans may point to the confusion before the play on whether or not the Patriots would attempt a trick play, but a penalty gave Tampa time to make a substitution once New England committed to the punt.

The Bucs left Davis on the field for a rep he should have never played, and now they will pay the price. Even the “punt safe” explanation from Arians falls flat here, but it is easy to argue what intent should have been once you look back on an event.

The Buccaneers have corners like Dee Delaney on the roster for a reason, and it isn’t to play reps on defense. If you’re going to roster a special teams corner, the smart move going forward would be to use that player over the hobbled CB1 that directly influences your season.

Now, the Bucs will have to scratch and claw for every single defensive rep in a season that just got that much harder. The preventable mistakes always hurt the most in retrospect.

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