Sunday’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers hurt in more ways than the box score shows for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Not only did the Bucs lose by double digits, but the team lost some key players to injuries along the way.
Jamel Dean left on a cart with an apparent foot injury after getting cooked by Brandon Aiyuk on a 76-yard touchdown, and Carlton Davis III also left before the game was over. Lavonte David was lost to what ended up being a groin injury, and the Week 12 status of all three players is in doubt.
There’s some hope that the three defensive stars can bounce back and be healthy in time for Sunday. With a game against the Colts and the clock ticking louder, the Bucs are running out of time to get the season back on track.
We will have to see if the four days between now and Sunday are enough time for those guys to get healthy but we already know one player who definitely won’t be suiting up.
Buccaneers are dangerously thin at WR after latest IR move
On Wednesday the Buccaneers placed rookie wide receiver Rakim Jarrett on IR, which will knock him out of the next four games. There’s a chance he returns, but for now the Bucs are going to once again need to figure out what to do next thanks to an injury.
Earlier this year the Bucs lost Russell Gage to a ‘sigificant’ leg injury during preseason practice with the New York Jets. Gage’s season-ending injury is one of the reasons some had hope that Jarrett would find a way to step up, and was certainly something that factored into his making the team before Week 1.
He hasn’t lit the box scores on fire, but Jarrett has 60 yards on four catches this year, all of which have been spread out and seem to come at the right times. His biggest game was this past Sunday against the 49ers, where he reeled in a 41-yard catch-and-run that helped set the Bucs up in the redzone.
It Was nice to see the undrafted rookie, who had so much hype around him during training camp, deliver in a big moment.
Without Jarrett the Bucs are down to just four receivers, and no corresponding move was made at the time of the announcement.