Mark Duffner had to deal with injuries that kept starting defensive linemen Gerald McCoy and Vinny Curry out of his first game as the Bucs’ new defensive coordinator last week in Tampa Bay’s 26-23 overtime win against Cleveland. He will have to do it again this week as the Bucs travel to Cincinnati to take on the 4-3 Bengals, who are coming off a 45-10 loss at Kansas City on Sunday night.

Both McCoy and Curry were injured in Tampa Bay’s 34-29 loss at Atlanta and missed Sunday’s game against Cleveland. Neither player participated in Wednesday’s practice.

PewterReport.com has learned that McCoy’s calf injury isn’t as bad as the torn calf muscle that rookie Vita Vea dealt with during training camp, but he will miss this week’s game versus the Bengals and perhaps the following contest at Carolina. Vea missed all four preseason games and didn’t return to practice until the week before the third game of the regular season and wasn’t activated to the 46-man game day roster until Week 4 at Chicago. Vea wore a boot for over a week during training camp, while McCoy has just worn therapeutic socks around One Buccaneer Place and has not been in a boot.

Vea will get his second NFL start at three-technique defensive tackle spot on Sunday in Cincinnati. Will Gholston and Rakeem Nunez-Roches will back up Vea.

Curry will miss more time. He’s been seen at One Buccaneer Place in a cast and in a scooter to help reduce the swelling and aid the healing of his high ankle sprain. That was the same type of injury and the same type of treatment that former Bucs defensive end Robert Ayers, Jr. had in 2016 when he suffered a high ankle sprain in a Week 2 loss at Arizona on September 18. Ayers didn’t return for five weeks, playing against Oakland on October 30 that year. Curry is expected to miss at least the next two games.

Carl Nassib started at defensive end in place of Curry and had a career-high two sacks in the win against the Browns, which was his former team. Nassib will get his second straight start at left defensive end on Sunday against the Bengals. In four games against Cincinnati while playing for Cleveland, Nassib has 10 tackles and half a sack.