It was already going to be a tough battle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night, but things got a little harder thanks to the team's final injury report.
Tampa Bay has a quick turnaround in Week 5, having played just five days prior in a win over the Eagles. The good news is that the 33-16 victory didn't require much effort, but the toll of a short week is arleady being felt.
SirVocea Dennis was placed on IR with a shoulder injury he suffered in the win, and the Bucs have already ruled out five key players. Antoine Winfield Jr., Calijah Kancey, and Luke Goedeke are all out, as are wide receivers Jalen McMillan and Trey Palmer.
That's not going to make an already tough game against the Falcons any easier.
Buccaneers final injury report ahead of TNF is a total disaster
Week 5 statuses for TNF 👇 pic.twitter.com/tIxJxeXVcs
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) October 2, 2024
Losing Goedeke for another game is a huge blow, as we've seen already seen the offensive line struggle in his absence. He's played just one game this year, the Week 1 win over the Commanders, and last week was the first time since then that the offense has found a groove.
Part of that was the improved play of Justin Skule and Cody Mauch, and part of it was the heat helping weigh the Eagles offensive line down. The Bucs offensive line was playing in the same heat, though, and Philly has a really solid defensive front that Tampa Bay kept off Baker Mayfield's back most of the day.
Atlanta has a good defensive line as well, and exploiting the Bucs missing a key player upfront is going to be a strategy the Falcons deploy.
The other concerning part of the injury report was over at wide receiver. Jalen McMillan missed the first game of his rookie season last Sunday and he'll make it an unfortunate two-in-a-row on Thursday night. Trey Palmer being out is a big deal as that means Sterling Shepard gets bumped up from the practice squad to the WR3 role.
Tampa Bay already had its work cut out, but missing five key players won't make an already difficult trip to Atlanta any easier.
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