Buccaneers starter injured during special teams play, leaves game

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost another key starter on their defense as he was injured on a special teams play near the end of the first half. Cornerback Carlton Davis suffered a non-contact injury during a punt by the New England Patriots, appearing to hurt his leg while running down the field.

#Bucs starting CB Carlton Davis just fall down mid-play, their best cover guy, not ideal.pic.twitter.com/aa2goAL1aJ

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 4, 2021

Another Buccaneers starter injured

Davis’ injury complicates things even more for the Buccaneers as their secondary is already well depleted with injury. Starting cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting was placed on injured reserve with a dislocated elbow, and Jamel Dean suffered a knee injury that forced him to miss most of their game last week and kept him out of Sunday’s game with the Patriots.

Drafted by the Buccaneers in the 2018 NFL Draft, Davis has one interception on the season in week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys. Against the Atlanta Falcons earlier this season, Davis recorded eight solo tackles.

In 2020, Davis set career highs in interceptions with four and tackles with 68. He has forced eight turnovers since joining the Buccaneers.

During the game, NBC’s Michele Tafoya relayed that Davis was ruled out of returning to the game designated as a quad injury.

Helping the secondary with Richard Sherman

Veteran cornerback Richard Sherman has signed a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the team announced on Wednesday following Sherman’s announcement on his new podcast.

“I went with the best offer I had, the best opportunity to go out there and put some great tape on, to lead another group,” Sherman said. “I feel comfortable and confident in my abilities to go out there and execute and help that team win.”

Sherman is a five-time Pro Bowler who has been in the league since 2011. He spent seven seasons with the Seattle Seahawks and three seasons with the San Francisco 49ers.

Last year in San Francisco, Sherman missed a sizable portion of the season with a calf strain. He only played in five games. The 49ers released him in February of this year.

Sherman leads the NFL in interceptions since his debut in the pros with 36. He played college football at Stanford, and the Seahawks selected him in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft.

On3’s Ashton Pollard contributed to this article.