Buccaneers Injury Update: Da'Quan Bowers returns to practice, Doug Martin sits out

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered several serious blows to their depth on Sunday against Carolina, losing corner Mike Jenkins for the season, and also losing a handful of players to minor injuries that have carried over into practice for Week 2's game against St. Louis.

According to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times, rookie tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, newly acquired guard Logan Mankins, running back Doug Martin and defensive end Michael Johnson are all on the sidelines for practice on Wednesday.

Seferian-Jenkins tweaked his ankle against Carolina, and was seen in a walking boot on the sideline. This is a similar timeline that eventually led to Charles Sims' placement on Injured Reserve, so it's certainly too early to tell if the Bucs second-round selection will be back any time soon.

Mankins has a brace on his knee (which he hyper-extended against the Panthers), but was walking around. He has played through injuries in the past, but according to Roy Cummings, it's "too soon to know" if he'll play this week.

Both Martin and Johnson picked up seemingly minor injuries on Sunday, and Martin was ready to return while Johnson actually did return to the game after getting hurt. Their lack of participation may be precautionary, but is still worth keeping an eye on.

And offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford, who missed most of the preparations for Week 1 as he recovered from a medical procedure, wasn't at practice today as he sought final clearance with his doctor to rejoin the team in his normal capacity.

It's not all bad news, however. Will Gholston and Da'Quan Bowers have returned to practice, along with Bradley McDougald. Rashaan Melvin is the only player with a lingering injury from the preseason, according to Auman.

And considering Johnson's health concerns and the overall lack of a pass rush, having Bowers and Gholston back should help the Buccaneers immensely. The Bucs still need better performances from their highly paid starters, but a strong showing from the backups could bring some much-needed competition to the front four.

Lovie Smith has been very quiet about team injuries, and there have been very few leaked stories about players' health. So for now, the only information we'll have are reports from practice from beat writers, and the official injury and practice participation reports. Those will give us a better idea of the status of these injured players ahead of Sunday's game against the Rams.