The Buccaneers have placed 25-year old cornerback Aqib Talib on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a hamstring injury.  Talib played in 13 games for the Buccaneers this year and he had 34 tackles, 2 interceptions (both returned for TDs), 1 forced fumbles, 11 passes defensed and 2 tackles for a loss.  He has now played in 54 games in his first four years for the Bucs and he has 161 tackles, 17 interceptions (3 returned for TDs), 46 passes defensed, 4 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.  This is a big loss for the Bucs as Talib is one of their best players.

The Buccaneers have placed 28-year old DT John McCargo on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a triceps injury.  McCargo played in 4 games for the Bucs this year and he had 5 tackles.  He has now played in 37 games in his NFL career and he has 52 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 6 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 5 passes defensed.  The Buccaneers won’t miss him much.

The Buccaneers have placed 23-year old LB Jacob Cutrera on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to an undisclosed injury.  Cutrera  played in 8 games for the Buccaneers this year and he had 3 tackles.  He has now played in 16 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 7 tackles.  This isn’t much of a loss for the Buccaneers going forward.

The Buccaneers have placed 26-year old DE Tim Crowder on the Injured Reserve List due to a nasty concussion.  Crowder played in 10 games for the Buccaneers this year and he had 14 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and 1 pass defensed.  He has now played in 41 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has 88 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 6.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries and 7 passes defensed.  The Buccaneers are going to miss Crowder as head coach Raheem Morris likes to rotate his DEs.

The Buccaneers have placed 23-year old DE George Johnson on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a knee injury.  Johnson played in 4 games for the Bucs this year and he had 2 tackles.  This injury will hurt the depth along the defensive line.  The Bucs quickly re-signed DT John McCargo to help out on the D-Line going forward.

The Buccaneers will be without 23-year old DT Gerald McCoy for the rest of the season due to torn biceps.  He played in six games for the Bucs this year and he had 11 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and 1 sack.  McCoy has now played in 19 games in his first two years with the Buccaneers and he has 39 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss, 4 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 4 passes defensed.  McCoy has been a huge disappointment for the Buccaneers since he was drafted in the first round in the 2010 NFL Draft.

The Buccaneers have lost 31-year old RB Earnest Graham for the rest of the season as he tore his Achilles tendon yesterday.  Graham played in 7 games for the Bucs this year and he carried the ball 37 times for 206 yards (5.6 ypc).  He also caught 26 passes for 163 yards (6.3 avg) in 2011.  If LeGarrette Blount isn’t ready to return after the bye week, 27-year old Kregg Lumpkin will likely be the featured back in the Bucs’ offense.  Lumpkin has played in 7 games for the Buccaneers so far this year and he has 12 carries for 35 yards (2.9 avg).  He has also caught 12 passes for 79 yards (6.6 avg) so far this year.  The Bucs are probably praying for Blount to be ready to go against the Saints after the bye week.

The Buccaneers will probably be without 24-year old RB LeGarrette Blount this weekend against the Saints due to a knee injury.  Blount has played in all five games for the Bucs so far this year and he has carried the ball 77 times for 428 yards (4.3 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also has caught 4 passes for 58 yards  (14.5 avg).  If Blount can’t go (which is very likely), 31-year old Earnest Graham will get the start.  Graham has played in all five games for the Bucs so far this year and he has carried the ball 18 times for 84 yards (4.7 ypc).  He has also caught 23 passes for 143 yards (6.2 avg) so far this year.  Look for the Bucs to throw the ball more than usual if LeGarrette Blount missed this weekend’s home game against  the Saints.

24-year old starting free safety Cody Grimm for a while due to a serious knee injury.  Grimm has played in all 3 games for the Bucs so far this year and he has 10 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  He played in 11 games as a rookie last year for the Bucs and he had 57 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 2 passes defensed and 2 interceptions (1 returned for a TD).  26-year old Corey Lynch and 23-year old Larry Asante will compete for the right to start in Grimm’s spot.  Lynch has played in 3 games for the Bucs so far this year and he has 3 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  Larry Asante has yet to play in a game this year for the Bucs.  He played in 2 games for the Bucs last year and he had 2 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception.  Losing Grimm is going to hurt the Buccaneers going forward.

UPDATE:  (9/29/2011) – Cody Grimm has a torn ACL and he is going to miss the rest of the season.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be without WR/KR Sammie Stroughter for a while due to foot surgery that he’s going to have tomorrow.  Stroughter didn’t catch any passes in the season opener but he returned 1 kickoff for 78 yards.  Michael Spurlock and Preston Parker are likely to replace him on special teams and offense until he’s ready to return to action.  Preston Parker caught 4 passes for 44 yards (11.0 avg) in the season opener, so he might have the edge on Spurlock offensively.  Michael Spurlock returned 1 punt for a loss of 2 yards yesterday.  Parker and Spurlock should be able to do a decent job while Stroughter is out of action.