The Buccaneers’ game against the Lions on Friday night was delayed an hour due to weather and that meant they were warming up for kickoff on a wet field when they got the green light to play.
That wet field contributed to a season-ending injury for wide receiver Sergio Bailey. Bailey slipped on the field and is on injured reserve after having surgery on his ankle.
“When we were in the team segment [of warm-ups] -- four plays -- and it’s just, the tempo of that is probably 60 percent tempo,” Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter said, via ESPN.com. “On the second or third play -- first play, maybe, of team -- Serge planted and he got back on his heels. It [was] a wet field [and] he looked to me like he slipped. I just thought he got his weight back and slipped; but the way he went down, he was immediately pointing at his foot. I thought maybe he was cramping. I guess when he planted, he either dislocated or broke his ankle.”
The Bucs also waived wide receiver Jake Lampman with an injury designation. He played against the Lions and the nature of his injury was not disclosed by the team.
Bailey, an undrafted rookie, had five catches for 73 yards and a touchdown in the preseason. Lampman had two catches for 22 yards and returned to the Bucs after spending time on their practice squad last year.