There was a lot to love about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers preseason win over the New York Jets on Saturday night. Kyle Trask looked really good — perhaps good enough to remain in the conversation to be QB1 — and guys like Sean Tucker and Trey Palmer continued to impress.
Not everything went well, though, and with the injury to quarterback John Wolford being one of the lowest points not only of the game but of the entire preseason thus far.
In the third quarter, after attempting just four passes, Wolford was crushed by Jets defensive tackle Jalyn Holmes and landed on his head and neck. Wolford remained down for several minutes and a stretcher needed to be taken out to get him off the field safely.
It was a terrifying few minutes, but Wolford gave fans a positive sign as he was leaving the field in the form of an emphatic thumbs up. He was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation, but the news seems to be getting better and better the further away from the incident we get.
Todd Bowles gives latest update on John Wolford after scary hit vs. Jets
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles gave what was as positive an update as we could have hoped for on Wolford.
“He’s moving around so, you know, that’s the best we can offer right now. The tests came out pretty good. We’ll just see how he recovers,” Bowles said.
In what was perhaps the most encouraging part of the update, Bowles said that Wolford had been discharged from the hospital and made the trip back to Tampa Bay with the team. While he’s back with the team, Bowles made sure to point out that Wolford is not quite out of the woods yet.
“For now, it’s a neck injury,” Bowles said. “Still evaluating him, but it’s a neck injury right now.”
The immediate concern is for Wolford’s long term health, with the question of what happens to the roster being a secondary question. It’s one that needs to be answered sooner rather than later, though, as the Bucs only have a handful of weeks before the season starts to get their quarterback room in order.
Wolford figured to be a pretty big part of the plan, even if he wasn’t in the conversation to be the Bucs starter. He brought a veteran leadership and valuable QB IQ with him to Tampa Bay, one that both Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask should benefit from.
It seems that the Bucs have their quarterback situation figured out in so much as Baker and Trask will be the top two guys. The question is whether they want to carry a true emergency quarterback as a third stringer or if Wolford can be allowed to get healthy while not having to suit up.
More Tampa Bay Buccaneers news and analysis