Crucial Buccaneers defender leaves Steelers preseason game with oblique injury

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made great usage of defensive back Christian Izien, so they'll be hoping that an oblique injury he suffered in preseason against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday isn't too serious.

Izien got starting reps during Saturday's game in lieu of Antoine Winfield Jr., who is dealing with a injury of his own and is likely shut down until the regular season. Unfortunately, he suffered an oblique injury at some point during the contest, and he was listed as OUT for the remainder of the game by Tampa Bay's communications staff.

DB Christian Izien (Oblique) is OUT for the remainder of tonight's contest. pic.twitter.com/d5omivf7aj
— Buccaneers Communications (@BuccaneersComms) August 17, 2025

Izien might not be a starter, per-say, but he's an important part of Tampa Bay's defense and it would be rough for the Bucs to lose him for an extended period of time.

Christian Izien is a key part of the Buccaneers' defense

Izien can play multiple positions in Tampa Bay's defense. Technically a safety, Izien has played nickel corner and outside cornerback as well, and he's a particularly valuable chess piece whenever a defensive back anywhere on the field. He's so useful, in fact, that head coach Todd Bowles declared that he had already made the team earlier during training camp.

“‘Izzy’ (Christian Izien) is valuable. He’s going to be here. I can say he’s made the team. I can tell you he made the team," Bowles said. "He does so many things well for us. He’s a football player. He comes to practice, he comes to play. You see the same guy every day. He just loves to play and the guys love him. He’s been great for the defense.”

Izien's versatility would be a huge boon to a Bucs team that has already had some secondary injuries. Antoine Winfield Jr. and Benjamin Morrison both have hamstring injuries, and the Bucs just loss defensive back J.J. Roberts to a season-ending knee injury. Roberts was similarly multi-faceted to Izien, so losing Izien for an extended amount of time could severely limit Tampa Bay's creativity on the defensive side of the ball.

The Bucs will look to get through this preseason game, and then hopefully Izien's injury update brings favorable news.

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