Buccaneers vs. Cowboys - Initial injury report

The first injury report of the season has been released and for the Buccaneers that means that all eyes are turning to a Super Bowl starter who still hasn’t quite overcome an injury which may prevent him from starting the season Thursday night.

Jordan Whitehead is still battling a hamstring injury and hasn’t been able to practice in quite some time. He was doing more individual work on Monday but his status for the 2021 season kickoff against the Dallas Cowboys is in serious question.

The other Buccaneers listed on the report were new running back Giovani Bernard (ankle) and wide receiver Antonio Brown (knee), however both players were full participants in practice.

For the Cowboys, things are a little more murky. They’ve already lost starting right guard Zack Martin for the game due to COVID which not only affects their run game but severely impacts their ability to protect quarterback Dak Prescott who is coming off a severe injury of his own. The Cowboys listed eight players on their report; DE Tarell Basham (ankle), OT La’el Collins (neck), DE Chauncey Golston (hamstring), CB C.J. Goodwin (hamstring), DE DeMarcus Lawrence (back), OT Ty Nsekhe (foot), QB Dak Prescott (right shoulder), and S Donovan Wilson (groin). All players except Nsekhe were full participants in practice Monday while Nsekhe was limited.

The Cowboys also had nine total players placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list in a sixteen day span, some for positive tests while others were considered close contact. Backup guard Brandon Knight, who is needed to help fill the void left by Martin, was placed on the list as a close contact and may be able to play Thursday night.

You can view the injury list below;