Will Bucs’ Bryant be ready for opener?
It’s been a rough for days for two of the top receivers in the NFC South. Carolina’s Steve Smith hurt his shoulder and is out at least two weeks, while the Tampa Bay Bucs’ Antonio Bryant is out for the preseason because he has a torn meniscus in his left knee.
Bryant will undergo arthroscopic surgery and is expected to be ready to play in the regular-season opener against Dallas on Sept. 13 – bet on the game at WagerWeb.com. He had been dealing with this knee injury for a better part of the last week, forcing him to miss several practices during training camp.
“We’re going to go ahead and work on that knee … clean that thing out, get him ready for the season,” coach Raheem Morris said after practice Monday.
Morris said Bryant hurt his knee in December, the same night he posted the second-best receiving performance in Bucs history with nine catches for 200 yards and two touchdowns in a loss at Carolina.
Morris added that Bryant could probably return for the final preseason game, but the team will be cautious and have him sit until the opener.
Bryant missed the entire 2007 season and broke out last season with 83 catches for 1,248 yards and 7 TDs. He finished the season especially strong, posting three 100-yard games in the last four games of the season, including that 200-yard effort in Week 14. He also caught five touchdown passes in the final five games of 2008.
The Bucs have very little depth at receiver, so if this injury lingers for Bryant, Tampa Bay could be looking at a terrible season as it wasn’t expected to be a playoff contender with a healthy Bryant.
Meanwhile, the Bucs released their first depth chart Monday and it lists Luke McCown as the first-team quarterback. McCown’s still in a heated battle with Byron Leftwich for the top job.
McCown will start Saturday’s preseason opener at Tennessee, which is a 3.5-point favorite on WagerWeb.com. Morris downplayed the fact that McCown is starting the first exhibition game.
“I knew McCown would start the preseason opener when I took this job,” said Morris, who also announced that Leftwich would start the second preseason game at Jacksonville. “These guys have known that for a while now. I told them months ago.”
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