Buccaneers vs. Panthers Final Injury Reports: Five Bucs Ruled Out
The Buccaneers and Panthers released their final injury reports Friday and as it stands, five Bucs will miss the Week 18 matchup with the Carolina Panthers.
Shaquil Barrett, Ronald Jones II, Jason Pierre-Paul, Rashard Robinson, and Justin Watson will all miss this week's game. Barrett, JPP, and Watson missed last week's game against the Jets with various ailments. Jones' and Robinson's injuries occurred during the Jets game.
Richard Sherman is listed as doubtful after practicing in a limited fashion and Ryan Jensen is listed as questionable after getting in back-to-back limited sessions Thursday and Friday. It's more than likely Sherman doesn't play and even though Jensen's availability is nowhere near guaranteed, he is likely to play outside of any kind of setback.
Bruce Arians said Friday that Barrett will actually miss this week's game after testing positive for COVID-19. He was already slated to miss the game with the knee injury, but if the Bucs rule him out due to COVID, then they can use a contagious disease practice squad elevation, which is unlimited in use.
The Buccaneers have yet to officially announce Barrett's placement on the NFL's reserve/COVID-19 list.
And per Arians, the running back situation is good to go despite missing the top-2 backs in Jones and Leonard Fournette.
"The running back situation – Ke’Shawn [Vaughn], Le’Veon [Bell] and Kenjon [Barner] are all ready to go and had a good week at practice," Arians told reporters Friday. "[I’m] anxious to see what they can do.”
Everyone else is expected go since they don't have an injury tag heading into the game.
The Panthers placed Stephon Gilmore and Shi Smith on the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday. Both players were initially listed as non-participants on this week's injury report and there's a good chance they'll miss the game.
Smith's potential absence is a big deal because the Panthers may be without Robby Anderson, who didn't practice all week and is listed as questionable with a quad injury. If Smith and Anderson both miss the game, then the Panthers will carry just three healthy receivers in D.J. Moore, Brandon Zylstra, and Alex Erickson on their 53-man roster before factoring in potential practice squad elevations.
Derrick Brown is also listed as questionable after popping up on Wednesday's report with an elbow issue. C.J. Henderson will play Sunday after finishing out the week without a tag.
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