The Bucs will be without one of their big-name free agent acquisitions this Sunday, as defensive tackle Akiem Hicks will miss up to a month with a foot injury.

After six years with the Bears, Hicks signed a one-year deal worth up to $10 million to come to Tampa Bay. Throughout camp, it was easy to get excited about the pairing of Hicks and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Vita Vea. Given the sheer size of the two men together combined with their athleticism, you knew they would be a force up front.

Bucs DT Akiem Hicks – Photo by: USA Today

Through two games, it’s just been just that. While the pressures haven’t been there, the stoutness of the pair is easy to notice. You can’t double team both Hicks and Vea, and it’s opened things up for each other and the rest of the defense. While Hicks’ presence on the defense will be missed, Bucs head coach Todd Bowles likes the group they have and doesn’t expect any drop-off from the unit.

“Well, it’s not a drop-off, it’s a different style of play that we have to have,” Bowles said. “We don’t have the same style of play that we would have to do if Hicks is in there with ‘Nacho’ (Rakeem Nuñez-Roches), Will [Gholston] and Vita [Vea] in there, so to speak, as well as Logan [Hall] and Pat [O’Connor]. So, we’ll change some things up down there and do some things differently, but we don’t expect a drop-off.”

Thankfully, the Bucs have assembled a deep rotation along the defensive line. While they might change some things up front, the players rostered on Tampa Bay’s defensive line are a versatile group. Co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers echoes Bowles thoughts and points to increased roles for the players in his unit.

Bucs NT Rakeem Nunez-Roches – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“Most of our guys up front are very interchangeable, and I think that’s kind of the way our roster is built,” Rodgers said. “Now, ‘Nacho’ will have to come in and play a little bit more, Logan would have to play a little bit more, Will does his job and we’ve added [Deadrin] Senat, then we have Pat that’s there and can play all three positions, so everybody’s role just has to increase until we get [Hicks] back.”

Bucs Rookie Ready To Make The Jump

Hall, the Bucs’ second-round pick, has been impressive out of the gate. While there certainly have been some rookie mistakes, he’s already shown his versatility playing across the line. He had some particularly good reps against Dallas’ All Pro guard Zach Martin and has shown the quick twitch ability to penetrate the backfield. With Hicks sidelined for the next month or so, the former Houston Cougar will get an even bigger chance to showcase his talent. But as Rodgers mentions, that jump to the next level needs to come quickly if the Bucs are going to sustain the defensive play they displayed in the first two games.

Bucs DT Logan Hall – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“The thing with him is he just keeps growing,” Rodgers said. “The veterans keep commenting and we think it’s really getting close to starting to click for him. We can see his rep count going up and he’s really hungry, you know what I’m saying. Especially now with Akiem down, his jump has got to come faster.”

If Hall can take his play to the next level, not only will it make the Bucs feel like they’ve hit on yet another high draft pick, but he will also provide the defensive line with a big boost while Hicks recovers.