The Bucs came out with a 21-15 win on Sunday over the Atlanta Falcons to improve to 3-2 on the season. It didn’t come easy in the second half, as Atlanta came back with 15 unanswered points. But part of that had to do with injuries sustained to key defensive players in the Tampa Bay secondary.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles & Co-DC Larry Foote – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Following the game, Todd Bowles gave an injury update on cornerbacks Carlton Davis, Sean Murphy-Bunting and safety Mike Edwards. All three players exited the game in the second half as the defense had to play much more because the offense had three separate drives with short three-and-outs.

“Carlton’s got a hip and Sean’s got a quad right now, that I know of.” Bowles said. “Mike should be fine, I didn’t hear about him yet. They didn’t give me the full report on Mike.”

Bucs Short-Handed In The Secondary

With Davis out and his backup — Murphy-Bunting — also unavailable, the Bucs had to rely on rookie Zyon McCollum to play outside. McCollum had been dealing with a hamstring injury since the preseason. He hadn’t even practiced until Week 2 and was a gameday inactive every week prior to Sunday. The team’s Week 5 game marked the first time that McCollum was active in his career. He recorded two tackles in his first career game.

Bucs CB Zyon McCollum – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Tampa Bay was also limited without Edwards, who was injured when diving in an attempt to tackle wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus as he made a catch and scored a touchdown. Logan Ryan was ruled out on Friday with a foot injury, leaving just Antoine Winfield Jr. and Keanu Neal at safety.

The only other defensive back remaining for the Bucs was Dee Delaney, who primarily plays on special teams. He would’ve had to play nickel corner with only Jamel Dean and McCollum available considering Winfield would have to play a traditional safety position.

Luckily, Edwards may be okay. Plus, Tampa Bay can hope that Ryan can be ready by Week 6. If not, the Bucs may have to elevate rookie safety Nolan Turner from the practice squad for extra depth.

Pewter Report will provide updates as we get further information on the severity of injuries to the group of defensive backs this week.