Saints vs. Buccaneers Inactives: Peyton Hillis, Carl Nicks not playing

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will not have starting left guard Carl Nicks today, while tight end Tom Crabtree is still out as well. The Buccaneers struggled to run the ball without Nicks last week, but the return of fullback Erik Lorig should help in that area. Gabe Carimi is expected to start in place of Nicks.

Peyton Hillis is another surprise inactive, and his presence on the list suggests that he has now fallen behind Mike James in the running back pecking order. Steven Means and William Gholston are both inactive as well, as the two drafted rookies are still too raw to make a regular contribution. Means' special teams contributions apparently aren't significant enough to get him on the field.

For the Saints, the loss of nose tackle Brodrick Bunkley is most significant. They're struggling to stay healthy on defense, but will still have most of their starters today. The return of linebacker Martez Wilson could be very significant for the New Orleans defense.

Buccaneers inactives: QB Dan Orlovsky, CB Michael Adams, RB Peyton Hillis, G Carl Nicks, TE Tom Crabtree, DE William Gholston & DE Steven Means.

Saints inactives: RB Khiry Robinson, S Isa Abdul-Quddus, T Terron Armstead, DE Tyrunn Walker, NT Brodrick Bunkley, WR Nick Toon & DE Glenn Foster.