Multiple Buccaneers’ Starters Unlikely to Play Against the Baltimore Ravens

The injury bug continues to plague the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

After an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Carolina Panthers — a team that was led by their third-string quarterback, after having just traded away their best offensive player, without their best cornerback — to say the Bucs are reeling would be a drastic understatement.

To make matters worse, several key players left the game due to injury, some of whom are not expected to make a recovery in time for the quick turnaround, which has a talented Baltimore Ravens squad coming to town Thursday night to face off against a demoralized Buccaneers' team on short rest.

Which ultimately makes a very ugly situation feel that much grimmer.

I'm sorry, it's actually six Bucs players ruled out, as Russell Gage was also ruled out (hamstring). So Gage, Brate, Goedeke, Davis, Winfield, Murphy-Bunting all out. Akiem Hicks would make it seven out, meaning Kyle Trask dresses as third QB.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) October 26, 2022

According to Greg Auman of The Athletic, offensive starters Russell Gage and Luke Goedeke have already been ruled out for Thursday night. On the defensive side of the ball, in addition to Akiem Hicks, star defensive backs Antoine Winfield Jr. and Carlton Davis will both be unavailable. To make matters worse, the team's third cornerback on the depth chart, Sean Murphy-Bunting, will remain sidelined as well.

With Logan Ryan on injured reserve, these new injuries to Davis and Winfield leave the Buccaneers' secondary extremely vulnerable. Rookie corner, Zyon McCollum — who struggled mightily in Carolina — will once against asked to fill the void created by Carlton Davis' injury.

Antoine Winfield Jr. has been one of (if not) the team's most impactful defensive players this season. Currently dealing with a concussion, it's important that he is feeling 100% before returning to the field. This leaves veteran safety, Keanu Neal responsible for patrolling the back end of the defense alongside Mike Edwards.

The absence of left guard, Luke Goedeke, won't stir up as much frustration amongst the Buccaneers' fanbase. The rookie has struggled mightily so far this season, which leaves the door open for Nick Leverett to make his case for the starting job. He'll have that chance Thursday night, as opposed to swapping offensive series' with Goedeke, as he did in Carolina — a peculiar coaching decision that was rightfully criticized by many.

Cameron Brate is still out. This means rookie tight end, Cade Otton, will continue his ascension up the depth chart, having performed very well in the opportunities he has been given so far.

As far as receivers go, Russell Gage has struggled with a hamstring injury since the season began. And although he's strung together several games in a row, he hasn't been able to make a significant impact in those games, aside from his standout performance vs. Green Bay.

According to Todd Bowles, Julio Jones will be a game-time decision. He's been out of the lineup for several weeks now after the team decided against placing him on IR — which would have opened up another roster spot — something that could have been very useful for an injury situation like the one the Buccaneers find themselves in this week.

The plethora of injuries the Buccaneers are facing is unfortunate. But it's also not something that can be used as an excuse. At least for this team.

No matter who is on the field for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Thursday, they're going to need to play significantly better than they have these last few weeks. If they don't, they simply won't have a chance to win this football game.

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