Florida linebacker Amari Burney exits in first half versus Eastern Washington

The  Florida Gators are dominating the Eastern Washington Eagles in the first half but they may have to continue without senior linebacker Amari Burney. Burney went down on the field after making a tackle in the second quarter and missed the next defensive series after appearing to suffer an injury to his right leg.

The Gators’ medical personnel tended to the linebacker and he was able to walk off the field under his own power.

Prior to leaving the field, Burney had a tackle and a sack, which resulted in a loss of five yards for Eastern Washington.

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The Gators are already playing without a key defender in safety Trey Dean. Despite a couple early injury scares, including Anthony Richardson who left the field for several plays, Florida is up 35-3 with three minutes to play in the second quarter.

Burney was able to return to play on the EWU drive leading into halftime in Gainesville. Through four games this season, the linebacker has 24 total tackles, three sacks, a forced fumble and an interception.

Napier confirms safety Trey Dean is out for Game 5

Billy Napier announced that safety Trey Dean will not play in Saturday’s game versus Eastern Washington due to injury.

“No he’s injured, Trey is injured and won’t be available for the game this week,” Napier said.

Dean is out with an unspecified lower-body injury, and the severity of the injury is unclear, as Dean did not leave the Gator’s previous matchup against Tennessee at any moment.

Florida is hoping that Dean’s injury is not severe, as he is one of the most experienced players on the Gators defense as well as one of their vocal leaders. Through four games Dean leads the Gators in tackles with 36 on the season, along with 2.5 tackles for loss and half a sack from his safety spot.

According to Pro Football Focus, Dean has been on the field more than any other player on Florida’s team so far this season taking 94.4% of their defensive snaps. Hopefully, they can take care of business without him this weekend, as they’re 29-point favorites, and get him back soon for the bulk of their SEC schedule.

On3’s Kaiden Smith contributed to this report.