The Buccaneers are already down a man, as backup defensive end Jacquies Smith was carted off with a knee injury.
The journeyman defensive end went down on a punt play, and was carted to the locker room. The Buccaneers have already announced he was out for the rest of the day with a right knee injury.
Smith had bounced around from the Dolphins to the CFL to the Jets to the Bills, before finding a home in Tampa. He had 6.5 sacks for the Bucs in 2014 and 7.0 last year, developing into a productive pass-rusher.
They brought in veteran Robert Ayers this offseason to augment their line, but it’s still a tough loss if Smith’s out any amount of time.