Thursday’s joint practice in Tennessee hurt for the Bucs – in a literal sense. Three key Bucs players left practice at different times with injuries.

It started with rookie cornerback Zyon McCollum.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>McCollum has a left hamstring strain and is getting it iced down. Looks like he might be done for the day.</p>&mdash; PewterReport (@PewterReport) <a href=”https://twitter.com/PewterReport/status/1560280519681527809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>August 18, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

McCollum, who is currently fourth on the depth chart at cornerback, had a solid game last week against Miami – despite one bad play.

Given the area of his injury – and the fact that he mentioned to Pewter Report that he will be seeking an MRI on it – it is more than likely he will not be playing in Saturday’s game in Tennessee. The missed reps won’t help McCollum, who is making a large jump in competition from Sam Houston to the NFL.

Following McCollum’s departure, Tyler Johnson picked up his own injury.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>The rep Johnson tweaked his ankle on. He appears to be back out on the field. <a href=”https://t.co/5XjTzoiQpG”>pic.twitter.com/5XjTzoiQpG</a></p>&mdash; PewterReport (@PewterReport) <a href=”https://twitter.com/PewterReport/status/1560280200419631110?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>August 18, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

Johnson has had a fantastic camp, plus he put together a dominant showing against Miami last week.

He eventually returned to the field, though he did not participate in team drills. Johnson currently finds himself in a heated battle with several other receivers for the WR5, WR6 or a potential WR7 spot. If he is to miss time, that could allow one of the others to have more opportunities to solidify themselves with a roster spot.

Lastly, Bucs All-World right tackle Tristan Wirfs walked off the practice field with a team trainer while wincing. He returned to the field later in practice, only without pads.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles didn’t have immediate updates on the injuries after practice. So, they’ll be worth keeping an eye on in the coming days. Tampa Bay squares off with the Titans Saturday night before returning home to Tampa.