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Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles is looking to “ramp up” the rehab of All-Pro tackle Tristan Wirfs ahead of the Bucs’ Week 16 road matchup against the Arizona Cardinals.
“We’ll see how he looks this week,” Bowles said during his December 19 press conference. “He moved around some last week. We’ll try to ramp up his rehab and see where he stands.”
Since Wirfs suffered an ankle injury during the Bucs’ Week 12 loss at the hands of the Cleveland Browns, the offensive line has allowed 2 sacks and 20 hits on quarterback Tom Brady. The 2 sacks is the fewest in any three-game stretch this season.
Outlook Looks Less Optimistic for Vita Vea
The offensive line isn’t the only unit missing a key starter for the Bucs.
Bowles detailed that Pro Bowl defensive tackle Vita Vea, who missed the Bucs’ matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals with a calf injury, is not quite as far along as Wirfs.
“Vita is probably a little behind Tristan right now,” added Bowles.
Vea suffered the injury during the Bucs’ 35-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on December 11, which has paused what has been a career year for the former Washington Husky product.
Vea has already posted career highs with 6.5 sacks, 7 tackles for loss and a forced fumble through 13 games this season.
If Vea is forced to miss a second consecutive game, the Bucs will likely expand the role of Rakeem Nunez-Roches to help anchor the interior of the defensive line for the Tampa Bay defense.
The Secondary Is Still Banged Up
Bowles did provide an additional update to another Pro Bowler on defense, saying that defensive back Antoine Winfield Jr. is “day-to-day with an ankle injury.”
Winfield Jr. reaggravated his ankle injury in the first half of their Week 15 loss to the Bengals.
He helped hold the Bengals’ offense to just 83 total yards and 3 points in the first half, only to watch Cincinnati generate 31 points and four passing touchdowns in the Bucs’ 34-23 loss.
The third-year safety from Minnesota has already missed four games this season. During the four games without Winfield Jr. in the lineup, the Bucs’ defense has allowed an average of 22 points per game to opposing offenses.
If Winfield Jr. is unable to go December 25 against the Cardinals, it will continue what has been an injury-riddled season in the secondary for the Bucs.
Cornerbacks Carlton Davis, Sean Murphy-Bunting and Jamal Dean have all missed time with injuries this season, forcing Tampa Bay to push backups Dee Delaney and Zyon McCollum into larger roles.
The next challenge that lies ahead for the secondary will be the Arizona Cardinals, who are trying to figure out life without quarterback Kyler Murray under center for the remainder of the season.
Whether it’s backup Colt McCoy or Trace McSorley under center for Arizona, the Bucs will still face a formidable challenge against the Cardinals’ pass-catching duo of DeAndre Hopkins and Marquise Brown.
When asked during a postgame interview on December 18 what the Bucs have to do to regroup heading into their matchup against Arizona, Murphy-Bunting said, “We just got to win.”
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