The Bucs made it through the 2026 preseason relatively unscathed until Friday night’s game at Jacksonville, which ended in a 19-0 shutout loss to the Jaguars. Two players left that game with an injury – both on defense.

Keionte Scott, the team’s fourth-round pick, could be projected to start at nickelback in the slot with Jacob Parrish moving to outside cornerback this season to replace Jamel Dean. Scott suffered an ankle sprain while assisting in making a tackle in the first half limped off the field. He did not return to action.

The more serious injury happened at the 8:44 mark of the third quarter when outside linebacker Mo Kamara, who had half a sack in last week’s win versus Kansas City, suffered a left knee injury that looked serious. Kamara laid on the field and was grabbing his left knee, writhing in pain. He then took his helmet off and tossed it in an anger.

With the help of team trainers, Kamara struggled limping off the field. He was signed to the Bucs practice squad last year and was making a good of enough impression to likely land on the practice squad again this year.

Bucs Provide Injury Update On Keionte Scott And Mo Kamara

On Saturday morning, Bucs head coach Todd Bowles provided an update on both injured players.

“He’s going to get an MRI this afternoon,” Bowles said of Mo Kamara’s knee injury. “Right now it’s a sprain, but we’ll wait and see what the tests say.”

The feeling is that this is a long-term injury, potentially season-ending based on how it looked and how he reacted to his knee being injured on Saturday night.

The news was more promising for rookie cornerback Keionte Scott, who could still be in play for the season opener in two weeks at Cincinnati.

“Not as serious I don’t think, but just some nicks,” Bowles said when discussing how Scott and the rest of the Bucs fared health-wise coming out of Friday’s game in Jacksonville. “He just sprained his ankle a little bit. He should be fine.”

Bucs CB Keionte Scott – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

Kamara wasn’t the only edge rusher that was really having a good preseason. Jack Pyburn, an undrafted free agent out of LSU, had a pair of sacks and a tackle for loss against the Jaguars. Pyburn has now totaled four sacks in three preseason games, after notching a pair of sacks against the Jets in the first exhibition game, and is putting himself in contention for a possible roster spot or practice squad consideration. Unfortunately, Kamara’s injury only aids Pyburn’s ascension up the depth chart as he is now likely OLB6 after Yaya Diaby, Rueben Bain Jr., Al-Quadin Muhammad, Anthony Nelson and David Walker.

“Pyburn is leading the league in sacks in preseason, so he’s made a great case for himself at a deep position,” Bowles said. “So that’s something we definitely have to look at.”

Pyburn, who totaled just three career sacks between three years at Florida and one season at LSU, made national headlines a few weeks ago when he was one of 15 players that successfully sued the NCAA and was granted an extra year of college eligibility. If he doesn’t make an NFL roster, Pyburn could opt to return to college for the 2026 season and potentially cash in on an NIL deal that could be far more lucrative than what he could make on the practice in Tampa Bay or elsewhere around the league.

“I haven’t talked to him about that,” Bowles said. “We have talked about the situation. He didn’t know what he was going to do at the time or how he felt. He had some people he is talking to, and again, that was probably a week ago. So I don’t know where his mindset is in that regard, but it’s something we have to sort through.”