Carlton Davis 'not looking good' to play Week 2 vs. Bears

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are set to play their home opener on Sunday, but it's starting to sound like one of the team's best players might not be healthy enough to take the field.

Carlton Davis III was added to the injury report on Wednesday with a toe injury, and things haven't gotten better as the week progressed. Davis missed both practices the Bucs held this week and if he misses a third on Friday his status for Sunday will seriously be in doubt.

Losing Davis would do more than just take one of the best defensive players out of the mix. The Bucs are already thin at cornerback and it's not exactly an ideal situation to be in to start trying to plug holes on the depth chart just two weeks into the season.

There's still time for Davis to test out his toe and return to practice, but Bucs fans shouldn't hold their breathe. As much of a bummer as it is to admit, it's starting to look like Davis playing against the Chicago Bears will require a miraculous recovery.

Carlton Davis 'not looking good' to play Week 2 vs. Bears

Greg Auman passed along word that Davis had missed practice again, with Rick Stroud noting that the cornerback's prospects of playing on Sunday are 'not looking good'.

If Davis can't go, J.C. Allen reports that Zyon McCollum would get the start instead.

Not to count our chickens before they hatch, but this is not the nightmare scenario it otherwise might be. The Bucs are hosting the lowly Bears, who looked absolutely putrid last week against the Green Bay Packers. It's not just that Chicago lost, it's how they've carried themselves in the aftermath of a defeat that everyone around the team seemed unprepared for.

Bears beat writer Dan Wiederer passed along a gloomy report of where morale is at Halas Hall leading up to Week 2's matchup.

Obviously the Bucs are worse without Davis in the lineup, which is a reminder that they need him healthy. It's only been one week and the Bucs still have a lot of work to do despite starting the season 1-0, but there are worse weeks to be without Davis than this Sunday against a lost Bears team.

There's always the possibility that Chicago bounces back and the Bucs regress, but what Tampa Bay can't afford is to be without one of its top defensive players for multiple weeks. If Davis isn't 100 percent, there should be zero debate about him sitting and resting.

Not having Davis against the Bears isn't ideal, but not having him the next week against the NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles -- on Primetime -- is even worse.

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