Johnthan Banks contracts MRSA, third Buccaneer infected

Johnthan Banks is the latest Tampa Bay Buccaneer to suffer from MRSA, according to Ian Rapoport. The Buccaneers refused to confirm or deny that report, although Banks was missing at practice today.

Banks was the team's second-round pick this year and their highest draft pick, and he had just beaten out Leonard Johnson for a starting spot. Banks had been playing fairly well, although he wasn't exposed or targeted much. For now, we can only hope that Banks will get healthy soon. MRSA can be a long-term issue and it is not easy to eradicate.

Earlier this year Lawrence Tynes and Carl Nicks had contracted the drug-resistant staph infection. Tynes was lost for the year, while Nicks suffered a recurrence this week.

Banks will most likely miss Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles and could be out for significantly longer, depending on the severity of the infection. That would be a blow to the team's secondary, which has already lost Michael Adams and Danny Gorrer for the next couple of games.The Bucs have been forced to give undrafted rookies Deveron Carr and Rashaan Melvin some significant playing time.

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• Daily Bucs Links: Nicks has MRSA again
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• Wallace Gilberry calls Greg Schiano a "joke", says Buccaneers felt like "high school program"