Injuries have already started to pile up on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a big way, with some notable players already being taken off the board.
The degree to which the injury bug has chewed through the roster varies. Chris Godwin was already going to miss time to start the season as he recovers from a severely dislocated ankle he suffered last October. Tristan Wirfs underwent offseason knee surgery, which means he is also going to miss at least the first few weeks of the season, while Antoine Winfield Jr., Jamel Dean, and Christian Izien were all sidelined with injuries.
On the far end of the scale, however, are guys like David Walker and J.J. Roberts. Both rookies suffered season-ending injuries in training camp, one of whom has a situation that somehow got even more heartbreaking.
Jason Licht's update on J.J. Roberts is another brutal twist of the knife
Bucs general manager Jason Licht talked about the injury to Roberts while making an appearance on the Buccaneers Radio Network, and twisted the knife.
“Unfortunately, because we were really, really excited about him,” Licht said, via JoeBucsFan. The dagger was when Licht said that Roberts "probably would have made the team” had he not suffered a season-ending injury.
What makes this such a tough one to swallow is the fact that Roberts was an undrafted free agent and already had a steep uphill battle toward making the roster. It was clear from the outset that the Bucs liked him, though, signing him to a three-year rookie deal that gave him $300,000 guarunteed.
That's not an insignificant amount of money for a team that still needs to be cap cautious, nor is it a small amount to give a UDFA who hadn't yet seen the field. When Roberts did hit the field, from minicamp through the first preseason game, he impressed in all of the right ways.
Roberts was already looking like a safe bet to make the roster, and hearing that Licht -- the man who makes that decision -- felt the same way makes the season-ending injury sting even more.
It all adds pressure to an increasing issue with depth the Bucs are dealing with. Roberts is out for the year, Winfield is dealing with a lower leg injury, Izien might miss Week 1, Tykee Smith and Tyrek Funderburk have also missed time, and fellow rookie Benjamin Morrison has yet to practice.
That's not exactly a great outlook on things given we're still a few weeks away from the regular season starting. Most of those guys will end up playing, but it's going to be hard to watch the secondary this year -- good or bad -- and not think about what could have been if Roberts had been healthy.