It was a bloodbath in Tampa Bay the last time the Bucs played the Saints. Not only did New Orleans steal a win at Raymond James Stadium by the unbelievable score of 9-0 last December, the Saints added injury to insult by knocking out several Bucs weapons on offense.

Now as Tampa Bay is set to travel to New Orleans for a pivotal Week 2 NFC South clash against the Saints, the Bucs have several weapons sidelined due to injuries sustained in a 19-3 Week 1 win at Dallas.

Bucs RB Leonard Fournette – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

On Wednesday, five wide receivers were either out or limited in practice. Russell Gage (hamstring), Chris Godwin (hamstring) and Julio Jones (knee) didn’t practice at all. Mike Evans (calf) and Breshad Perriman (knee) were limited.

And running back Leonard Fournette who ran the ball for 127 yards on 21 carries, was also limited due to a hamstring injury. Fournette was pulled in the fourth quarter of the Dallas game to rest his tweaked hamstring with the Bucs up by 16 points.

Right tackle Tristan Wirfs was limited due to his abdominal injury he suffered in training camp. Wirfs played the whole game in Dallas without incident.

Left tackle Donovan Smith, who suffered a hyperextended elbow at Dallas, did not practice. It’s believed he’ll be a game time decision, even if he misses practice all week. Rookie cornerback Zyon McCollum remains out with a hamstring injury he suffered a month ago at Tennessee. Quarterback Tom Brady sat out Wednesday’s practice due to rest.

Godwin is not expected to play in New Orleans and he’ll be week-to-week with his playing status. There is a chance that the rest of the injured Bucs suit up and play against the Saints. But how worried should the Bucs be about so many weapons being injured so early in the season?

Hamstring injuries can flare up again at any time, especially if not fully healed. The same is true for calf strains. There is a chance that the injured Bucs – except for Godwin – play in New Orleans and come out of the game unscathed.

But Tampa Bay might have to prepare for the worst case scenario just in case – and activate wide receiver Scotty Miller and running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn. Both were inactive last week. Miller stands the best chance to be active this week anyways, replacing Godwin on the 46-man game day roster. If Fournette’s hamstring were to flare up early, the Bucs would be down to just rookie Rachaad White and Giovani Bernard if Vaughn isn’t active on Sunday.

The Bucs need to be prepared in case they were to lose Gage or Fournette early in the game if those hamstring injuries reoccur. That’s essentially what happened last December at Ray-Jay the last time these two teams met. Tampa Bay’s offensive arsenal was quickly depleted due to injury, and the Bucs were shut out as a result.

Saints Knocked Out Several Bucs In Last Meeting

Bucs WR Chris Godwin – Photo by: USA Today

The first – and most serious – blow in that 9-0 loss was dealt to Godwin, who sustained a serious knee injury that knocked him out for the rest of the year. Saints defensive back P.J. Williams went low and took out Godwin’s knee in a play that was deemed by some to be a cheap shot.

Godwin returned to action from his torn ACL for the first time last week and caught three passes for 35 yards before pulling a hamstring in the second quarter.

Evans and Fournette suffered hamstring injuries and had to leave the last game against New Orleans. Evans’ injury was in the first quarter and Fournette’s injury was near the start of the third. Evans would play the following week, but Fournette missed four games until returning for the Rams playoff game. Linebacker Lavonte David also suffered a Lisfranc foot injury against the Saints that caused him to miss the final three games of the regular season.

If the Bucs are going to end their seven-game losing streak in the regular season to the Saints they’ll need some luck on the injury front on Sunday. It will take a full complement of Tampa Bay’s weapons to finally beat the Saints.