Gerald McCoy out for Buccaneers vs. Falcons

Gerald McCoy will miss today's game against the Atlanta Falcons, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports. He underwent a procedure on his hand last Monday and was only able to practice once in limited fashion this week. McCoy was listed as doubtful on the injury report so his absence is no surprise, though it's a big blow to the team's pass rush ability.

With defensive ends George Johnson and Jacquies Smith also out for today's game, and defensive tackle Clinton McDonald on injured reserve, the Bucs will be stuck with all backups across the defensive line -- though Will Gholston did win the starting job earlier this year over Johnson. The Bucs' starting defensive line should consist of Howard Jones, Henry Melton, Akeem Spence and William Gholston today -- still a decent group against the run, but they're likely to struggle to get to Matt Ryan today.

The Bucs will at least have Austin Seferian-Jenkins back today, which should help the offense keep up if the defense can't stay together without a coherent pass rush.