Buccaneers vs Dolphins: Initial injury report

As the Buccaneers continue to try and recover from the massive number of players that have dealt with injuries already, it seems as though the list is just getting longer. With Bruce Arians telling the media on Wednesday that he doesn’t see Carlton Davis or Sean Murphy-Bunting returning “any time soon,” things don’t seem on the cusp of improving.

That said, it’s another week in the system and at practice for cornerback Richard Sherman - who will continue to improve as time passes - and there should be some slight optimism that Jamel Dean can return this week.

The Buccaneers had four players not participate in practice on Wednesday; Carlton Davis (quad), Rob Gronkowski (ribs), Antoine Winfield Jr. (concussion), and newcomer to the list Patrick O’Connor (calf). It’s a long shot that Winfield Jr. will clear concussion protocol before Sunday’s game so the Bucs are preparing as if Mike Edwards will be the starter against the Dolphins.

Limited participants were Jamel Dean (knee), Giovani Bernard (knee), and Jason Pierre-Paul (shoulder). JPP has missed the last two games with the shoulder injury but seems to be on the verge of returning. The other two players listed on the injury report were wide receivers Antonio Brown (knee) and Chris Godwin (thumb) but both were full participants.

As for the Dolphins, cornerback Byron Jones (ankle) did not participate, wide receiver DeVante Parker (shoulder) and tight end Adam Shaheen (neck) were limited, and cornerback Xavien Howard (shoulder) and safety Brandon Jones (ankle) were full participants.

The Dolphins have already announced they’ll be without wide receiver Will Fuller for at least three weeks as he is being placed on injured reserve with a broken finger. That certainly helps the Bucs secondary as Fuller is one of the best deep threats in the NFL when healthy - though that seems to be less often than not.

Here is the full injury report for the Bucs and Dolphins ahead of their week five game;

The Locked On Bucs Podcast is now on YouTube! Be sure to check out the latest episode below. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Locked On Bucs channel for daily Buccaneers content from James Yarcho and David Harrison.