The Tampa Bay Buccaneers just can’t seem to catch a break this season, and Week 14 only added more weight to an already heavy load.
Sunday’s loss to the New Orleans Saints - a team that came into the game with just two wins - was a gut punch. But the scoreboard wasn’t the only place the Bucs took a hit.
The injury report coming out of the game is just as concerning, if not more so. Tampa Bay lost three key players: safety Tykee Smith, linebacker Haason Reddick, and guard Ben Bredeson.
And of those, Bredeson’s situation appears to be the most serious.
According to FOX Sports’ Greg Auman, Bredeson is expected to miss Thursday’s game and could be sidelined for multiple weeks due to a knee injury. There’s even a chance he lands on injured reserve, which would knock him out for the rest of the regular season.
That’s a tough blow for a Bucs offensive line that’s already been shuffled more times than they’d like this year. Bredeson had already missed time earlier in the season, and losing him again - especially at this point in the year - couldn’t come at a worse time.
His absence means the Bucs will likely roll with Michael Jordan and Luke Haggard alongside rookie Graham Barton on the interior. Barton’s been a bright spot as a first-year player, but now he’ll be asked to do even more, especially with less experience around him. That added responsibility also increases the load on tackles Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke, who’ll need to hold the edges down while the interior line adjusts on the fly.
For an offense that’s still trying to find its rhythm, this stretch could get even tougher. Injuries are part of the game, sure, but when they pile up like this - and hit the offensive line in particular - it can derail even the most well-laid plans. The Bucs are going to need resilience, depth, and a little bit of luck to navigate the coming weeks and keep their postseason hopes alive.
One thing’s for sure: the road ahead just got a lot steeper.