The Bucs are dealing with some tough injuries to key positions at this point of the season. Bruce Arians announced that three players won’t be available for the team’s home game on Sunday at 1:00 PM against the Dolphins. Safety Antoine Winfield Jr., tight end Rob Gronkowski and defensive lineman Pat O’Connor will not be cleared to play in Week 5
#Bucs HC Bruce Arians says that Gronk, Pat O’Connor and Antoine Winfield Jr. are out for Sunday.
— PewterReport (@PewterReport) October 8, 2021
Winfield Jr. wasn’t able to get out of concussion protocol after getting injured in last Sunday night’s game. Gronkowski is still recovering from fractured ribs in the Bucs’ road game in Los Angeles, and O’Connor has a calf injury that came up this week and forced him to miss all three practices.
For Winfield and Gronkowski, their replacements are pretty direct. Mike Edwards will step into a starting safety role next to Jordan Whitehead, while Cam Brate and O.J. Howard fill in at tight end for the second consecutive week.
O’Connor is a different story, as he plays an important role on the Bucs’ special teams. Who will his replacement be on that unit? Outside linebacker Cam Gill, who has been on injured reserve, is now eligible to return to the roster. Gill was a 4-phase special teams player for the Bucs for the majority of last season.
“It’s one of the things we’re thinking about,” Arians said.
This is the first game of the season that Winfield and O’Connor are missing, and the second for Gronkowski.