Bucs wide receiver Michael Clayton sprained the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his left knee while blocking on the first play of last Sunday’s game at Atlanta. The injury is expected to sideline Clayton for at least 1-2 weeks and he will miss this Sunday’s contest at Carolina. The injury is not severe enough to place Clayton on injured reserve.

Maurice Stovall is expected to start in place of Clayton against the Panthers. Despite being a reserve for most of the season, Stovall actually has better numbers than Clayton does. Through nine games, Stovall, who is slated to become an unrestricted free agent next year if there is an extension to the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, has 14 catches for 212 yards and one touchdown. Stovall had three catches for 26 yards in Sunday's loss at Atlanta.

Clayton has played in all 10 games, albeit for just one snap against Atlanta, and has 14 catches for 204 yards and one touchdown on the season.

The Bucs will deactivate Clayton against the Panthers, so that means either veteran Brian Clark or newcomers Yamon Figurs or Terrence Nunn could be active as the team’s fourth wide receiver on Sunday, joining Stovall, Antonio Bryant and Sammie Stroughter in the lineup.