Buccaneers at Patriots: Week 4 inactives

It’s finally here. The return of Tom Brady to New England as the Buccaneers take on the Patriots. However, the other return was not meant to be.

We learned on Saturday that tight end Rob Gronkowski did not make the trip to Foxboro as his rib injuries were far worse than initially believed. According to NFL insider Jay Glazer, Gronk has four cracked ribs, one broken rib, and a punctured lung so his absence may very well extend past this week;

The Bucs are also without running back Giovani Bernard, cornerback Jamel Dean, and linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul. Newly acquired Richard Sherman will start for the Bucs tonight.

As for the Patriots, they will be without running back James White tonight and the rest of the season following a hip injury suffered in week three.

Here are the inactive players for the Buccaneers and Patriots ahead of their prime time matchup;

Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

TE - Rob Gronkowski

RB - Giovani Bernard

LB - Jason Pierre-Paul

QB - Kyle Trask

WR - Jaelon Darden

OL - Nick Leverett

New England Patriots

OT - Trent Brown

RB - Rhamondre Stevenson

CB - Joejuan Williams

LB - Ja’Whaun Bentley

CB - Shaun Wade

OLB - Ronnie Perkins

Ke’Shawn Vaughn will be active in the absence of Bernard while Joe Tryon-Shoyinka will get plenty of playing time in JPP’s absence. This also means cornerback Carlton Davis is active after being listed as “questionable” on Friday’s injury report.

The Buccaneers and Patriots kick off on Sunday night at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC. Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, and Michelle Tafoya will be on the call.