The Buccaneers have had issues on and off the field this season, and now Tampa Bay may be forced to play the rest of the season without running back Doug Martin. Martin injured his shoulder on Sunday with multiple reports saying the injury is serious enough to cause him to miss the rest of the season.
NFL injuries 2013, Week 7: Doug Martin could be out for the year
A bad season got worse for Tampa Bay with Doug Martin suffering a serious shoulder injury.
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
While Martin’s shoulder injury was the most notable from Week 7, he wasn’t the only AFC South player to go down. Here’s a roundup of the latest injury news from around the division.
The Falcons have been ravaged by injuries this season and the trend continued on Sunday. Linebacker Stephen Nicholas left the game in the first quarter while Akeem Dent re-injured his ankle. Desmond Trufant went down and remained on the turf for a bit before eventually walking off without assistance.
The Falcons did get some good news on the injury front with Mike Smith saying on Monday that he expects running back Steven Jackson to return to practice this week.
Carolina avoided serious injury on Sunday but a few players were limited on Monday. The Panthers are on a short week with a Thursday game. Tight end Greg Olsen (foot), wide receiver Brandon LaFell (knee) and linebacker Chase Blackburn (foot) were limited in practice. Dwan Edwards sat out of Monday's practice due to a foot injury.
Jonathan Stewart, who has been on the physically unable to perform list, will practice this week according to head coach Ron Rivera. His status for Thursday’s game is still unknown.
With the Saints off on a bye week, the focus in New Orleans is on tight end Jimmy Graham. Graham injured his foot in Week 6 and his status for Sunday’s game remains uncertain, according to Adam Schefter. Schefter reported it would have been “hard” for Graham to play if New Orleans had a game in Week 7.
Linebacker Jonathan Vilma practiced on Monday as he continues to work his way back from a knee injury. Vilma is currently on injured reserve with the designation to return.
A number of NFL reporters, including Albert Breer of NFL.com and Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports reported Martin suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder and is likely to miss the rest of the season. Tampa Bay coach Greg Schiano said the team does not believe the injury is season-ending, according to Roy Cummings. Martin’s status will likely be updated later in the week, he was scheduled to have undergo a MRI on Monday. If his labrum is indeed torn, it would be hard to imagine Martin playing this season, especially with Tampa Bay 0-6.
Safety Dashon Goldson also underwent a MRI on Monday, according to Adam Schefter. Goldson injured his knee on Sunday although he was able to return to the game and play through the injury.
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