Injury Updates on Buccaneers RB Giovani Bernard, CB Jamel Dean
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians didn't have a ton of specifics on either player, but provided some insight into running back Giovani Bernard and cornerback Jamel Dean's injuries suffered on Sunday in an overtime, 33-27 victory over the Buffalo Bills.
"Gio's in the [MRI] tube so we don't know yet, the extent of his injury," Arian said on Monday. Dean [is] just dealing with wooziness and what's causing it, whether it's concussion-related, which he didn't take a hit, or if it was just something [like a] head cold."
Not long after Arians' Monday press conference, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported that Bernard suffered an MCL injury and that the expectation is the running back will miss "some time." It is unclear if Bernard injured the same knee that he hurt against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3, which led to being inactive in Week 4 vs. New England.
The Bucs had originally reported that Bernard suffered a hip injury during the game.
Bernard has not yet carved out a large role in Tampa Bay's offense after signing with the team in March, but has occasionally filled in as the Buccaneers' third-down running back, catching 23 passes for 123 yards and three touchdowns in 12 games.
Unfortunately for Dean, Sunday marked yet another game where he was sidelined for an extended period of time if not the remainder of the matchup as he's dealt with numerous ailments throughout the year, most recently a concussion in Week 13 against Atlanta which succeeded shoulder and knee injuries earlier in the year.
Dean cleared concussion protocol the day before the matchup against Buffalo.
Despite the string of wounds, Dean has appeared in all but one game this season for Tampa Bay, holding down the cornerback position while Carlton Davis III, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Richard Sherman and Rashard Robinson have all spent time on the injured reserve. In 12 games, Dean has recorded 21 tackles, two interceptions, and eight defended passes.
Wednesday's injury report should paint a better picture as to where Bernard and Dean are in their recovery process.
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