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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are dealing with an incredibly serious infection in their building: MRSA. As first reported by Alex Marvez of Fox Sports, Carl Nicks and Lawrence Tynes have been infected with the penicillin-resistant staph infection. According to Chris Mortensen speaking on ESPN, Carl Nicks will be out indefinitely while they treat him. If left untreated, MRSA can be career- and even life-threatening.
The Bucs have, according to Marvez, sanitized their facility and will do it again this weekend as the team heads to Miami. No players other than Nicks are believed to be infected. Players have been given special soap, and the Bucs believe they have caught it in time.
The most well-known case of MRSA in the NFL happened with the Cleveland Browns, who reportedly had two instances of MRSA and a slew of regular staph infections in the mid '00s. Kellen Winslow Jr. was one of the players infected at the time, as was Joe Jurevicious. Winslow missed the final six games of the 2008 season with that infection, but had no subsequent problems.
This does explain why seemingly minor foot injuries have sidelined Nicks and Tynes both for extended periods of time.