The Bucs are 2-0 on the young season, but the first two weeks haven’t been without their issues. Namely, Tampa Bay is already dealing with a handful of injuries to key players.

Veteran defensive tackle Akiem Hicks looks to have the most serious injury at the moment, with reports emerging Tuesday that he would miss at least a month due to a torn plantar fascia. He suffered the injury in Sunday’s 20-10 win over New Orleans.

Tampa Bay has rookie Logan Hall and veteran Rakeem Nunez-Roches to fill in for Hicks in the meantime, but the team re-signed a familiar face to its practice squad on Wednesday.

Khalil Davis, who the Bucs drafted in 2020 before cutting him in 2021, is back with the team, The Athletic’s Greg Auman reported. 

Bucs DT Khalil Davis – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Davis, who was selected in the sixth round of the 2020 Draft, played in two games for Tampa Bay that season, collecting two tackles. He was waived last October, leading him to sign with the Colts. He played in one game for Indianapolis before hitting waivers again. The Steelers then signed Nebraska product to their practice squad last November and gave him a reserve/future contract in January. However, he was cut from the team in August and has been a free agent since.

Davis Gives Bucs An Insurance Policy At DT

The Bucs announced Wednesday that they have placed tackle Josh Wells and running back Giovani Bernard on injured reserve, which means they have to miss the next four games before being eligible to return. Given that Hicks hasn’t landed on I.R., perhaps the team thinks he’ll be able to make it back in as little as a few weeks. But Davis gives Tampa Bay an insurance policy that it’s familiar with in the interim. We’ll now wait and see whether or not the 26-year-old is elevated from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against the Packers.