When Bucs CB Carlton Davis went down with a quad injury in Week 4, the injury looked bad. The Bucs placed him on injured reserve a few days later, rendering him unavailable for at least the next three games. Davis’ timeline to return has been up in the air, but on Monday head coach Bruce Arians offered some good news.

“It does not look like he’ll need any surgery,” Arians said. “But we have no clue how long this is going to be.”

Davis has already missed one game on injured reserve, and will miss at least the next two contests against the Eagles and the Bears. He is eligible to return from IR against the Saints in Week 8, but it would be unexpected. Davis is the team’s top cornerback, with five passes defensed and an interception this season. In the absence of he and Sean Murphy-Bunting, the Bucs have turned to Jamel Dean and recently signed veteran Richard Sherman.

Bucs CB Sean Murphy-Bunting- Photo by USA Today

As for Murphy-Bunting, the Bucs still aren’t sure when he’ll return. The third-year corner was placed on injured reserve after a dislocated elbow in Week 1.

“Yeah, it’s gonna be still a few weeks off,” Arians said.

The Bucs face just one passing attack ranked in the top half of the NFL over the next month. That test will come this Thursday night in Philadelphia against the Eagles 12th-ranked passing attack. Sherman and Dean will start on the outside, with Ross Cockrell in the slot. The Bucs hope Antoine Winfield Jr. can return from concussion protocol to start at free safety. The second-year safety was limited in practice on Monday.