Bucs Injury Update: Status Changes For Week 18

The addition was outside linebacker Cam Gill, who has a knee injury and is now listed as questionable for Sunday’s game in Carolina. Gill stepped up and played a season-high 22 defensive snaps with Shaq Barrett missing from last week’s loss to New Orleans. Barrett isn’t carrying an injury designation heading into Sunday, but Gill’s status will determine how the rotation ultimately works out further down the depth chart in Week 18.

As for the status change, it was a downgrade for inside linebacker K.J. Britt. After logging a limited practice on Friday, Britt was added to the injury report with a calf injury. That earned him a late “questionable” designation and now, as of Saturday, the Bucs are listing him as doubtful for Sunday.

The last time Tampa Bay played Carolina, the defense was without Lavonte David, Devin White and SirVocea Dennis, leaving Britt with a larger role. But just seven snaps into the game, he exited with a back injury and didn’t return. That left J.J. Russell and safety Ryan Neal as the team’s linebackers for the rest of the game. The good news for the Bucs, though, is that they’ll have their starting linebackers, as well as Dennis, available Sunday. Britt would be missed on special teams, though.

The big development in this injury update for the Bucs concerns cornerback Carlton Davis III. The team’s No. 1 cornerback missed last week’s game after suffering a concussion in the team’s Week 16 win over Jacksonville. He might be trending in the right direction at the right time, though, as Tampa Bay announced Saturday morning that Davis has cleared concussion protocol. He is still listed as questionable for Sunday’s game, however.

Davis has been limited to just 11 games so far this year and is set to enter a contract year in 2024. With his struggles to stay healthy (he has never made it through a full season without missing games) and the fact that he doesn’t generate takeaways at a high clip, the Bucs may have a tough decision to make on him this offseason. Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds wrote about that in his most recent edition of SR’s Fab 5.

Bucs Are Relatively Healthy For Regular Season Finale

This deep into the regular season, it’s understandable that a lot of guys are banged up and less than 100%. But for the Bucs, they’re in pretty solid shape injury-wise as they prepare for a do-or-die Week 18 game at Carolina.

The big question all week was the health of quarterback Baker Mayfield after he took a late hit to the ribs in last Sunday’s loss. He steadily got better as the week went on, going from a non-participant in practice on Wednesday to a limited participant on Thursday before logging a full practice on Friday.

Mayfield is listed as questionable for the game, but head coach Todd Bowles said Friday that his quarterback is ready to go for Sunday.

“He’s full-go,” Bowles said. “He’ll be ready to go on Sunday. I expect him to be the same as he always was.”

Bowles also confirmed that Davis and tight end Ko Kieft were “full-go” on Friday and will be ready for Sunday’s 1:00 p.m. kickoff.

Mike Greene, whose practice window recently opened after he was activated from injured reserve, is the only player ruled out for the Bucs. Britt is now doubtful as of Saturday, but everyone else appears to be in play for Tampa Bay as it looks to clinch a third straight NFC South title and set up a Super Wild Card Weekend contest at Raymond James Stadium next week.