Buccaneers place Clinton McDonald on injured reserve

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have placed defensive tackle Clinton McDonald on injured reserve. The defensive tackle missed last Sunday's game with a pectoral injury that is apparently serious enough to end his season. That represents a pretty big blow to the Bucs' interior defensive line, where McDonald has been a real force at nose tackle.

Luckily, the Bucs saw Akeem Spence return from a back injury two weeks ago and he's looked surprisingly explosive and disruptive since then, more so than he's looked at any point in his career so far. He and the also currently injury Tony McDaniel will have to fill in for McDonald at nose tackle, with Henry Melton and Gerald McCoy manning the three-technique spot.

Placing McDonald on injured reserve does give the Bucs the room to add Demar Dotson to the roster without cutting anyone. Dotson should return from short-term injured reserve this week, though it may take a little longer for him to fully participate in practice and start.