Buccaneers place J.R. Sweezy, Louis Murphy on PUP, will miss five games

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have placed guard J.R. Sweezy and wide receiver Louis Murphy on the Physically Unable to Perform/Reserve list, which will cause hem to miss the first six weeks of the 2016 NFL season. That’s five games, as the Bucs have a bye in week six.

Sweezy was signed to a five-year, $32.5 million contract at the start of free agency to replace the retired Logan Mankins, but underwent a procedure on his back and hasn’t been able to practice since. The Bucs are confident he’ll be ready by week six, but then they didn’t expect him to miss all of the offseason. Meanwhile, Louis Murphy is still recovering from a torn ACL early last season, and hasn’t been able to practice since then.

The Bucs re-signed safety Kimario McFadden and linebacker Jeremiah George, who they’d cut to get under the 75-man roster limit. Given the fact that that happened, they’re not exactly likely to make it onto the team’s 53-man roster.

With Sweezy out, the Bucs will play Kevin Pamphile at left guard. The third-year fifth-round pick looked good at that position last year, and has done well this preseason, so there shouldn’t be a big dropoff. In fact, Pamphile might actually turn out to be a better left guard than Sweezy, who’s been inconsistent throughout his career.