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The Buccaneers were having a decent offseason, up until now.
Veteran right tackle Demar Dotson had knee surgery last week. There is now uncertainty as to when exactly he will return.
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport broke the news on Twitter.
Sources: #Bucs RT Demar Dotson had surgery late this past week to repair a torn mensiscus in his knee. He’ll miss OTAs and minicamp but the belief is he’ll be good for training camp.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 15, 2018
“Belief” being the operative word there.
The 33-year-old Dotson was part of a unit that struggled at times throughout the 2017 season. He has missed 18 games the past three seasons.
Tampa Bay experimented with offensive lineman Caleb Benenoch during Dotson’s absence last year. It’s fair to assume the team may do the same again, at least until Dotson returns.
With the draft under two weeks away, it is believed that the team will be targeting a lineman and have been tied to Notre Dame’s Quenton Nelson and UTEP’s Will Hernandez.
If Dotson is out for an extended period of time, this may put a wrinkle in the Bucs’ potential plans for 2018.