There's no way around it – the Buccaneers, and the defense especially, got a little banged up in training camp. The grueling summer practices are meant to be tough and it's not out of the norm for teams to see multiple injuries. The biggest blows came when both veteran inside linebacker Lavonte David and defensive lineman Vita Vea both went down in a matter of days.
That was over a month ago and my, how time can (literally) heal all wounds.
The Bucs got good news this past week as both Vea and David practiced, albeit in a limited capacity, starting on their bonus day on Tuesday. With the first official injury report out, the pair were two of six players who practiced on a limited basis on Wednesday and 10 players listed on the report, in general.
The Bucs also saw the return of rookie outside linebacker Anthony Nelson this past week. Nelson was a full participant in Wednesday's practice and will be looking to catch up after missing the preseason.
Another rookie that made his return from injury this week was safety Mike Edwards, who had missed the last couple weeks due to a hamstring injury. Edwards was limited in practice along with tight ends Cameron Brate and Antony Auclair.
The bad news comes as safety Justin Evans, who was able to practice a little bit this past week, and practiced during the portion open to media on Tuesday, was held out of practice on Wednesday. Evans joined quarterback Blaine Gabbert, nursing his shoulder injury suffered in the third preseason game and outside linebacker Demone Harris, who Head Coach Bruce Arians said was just out with a simple illness and should be back tomorrow, on the sidelines.
As for San Francisco, the biggest injury note is first-round pick Nick Bosa, who was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice with an ankle injury.
See below for the full injury report:
Buccaneers
TE Antony Auclair (calf) – Limited Participation
OLB Devante Bond (hamstring) – Limited Participation
TE Cameron Brate (calf) – Limited Participation
ILB Lavonte David (knee) – Limited Participation
S Mike Edwards (hamstring) – Limited Participation
S Justin Evans (achilles) – Did Not Participate
QB Blaine Gabbert (left shoulder) – Did Not Participate
OLB Demone Harris (illness) – Did Not Participate
OLB Anthony Nelson (knee) – Full Participation
NT Vita Vea (knee) – Limited Participation
49ers
DE Nick Bosa (ankle) – Limited Participation
DE Dee Ford (knee) – Full Participation
WR Jalen Hurd (back) – Did Not Participate
WR Dante Pettis (groin) – Limited Participation
CB Jason Verrett (ankle) – Limited Participation
C Weston Richburg (knee) – Limited Participation
T Joe Staley (not injury related) – Did Not Participate
WR Trent Taylor (foot) – Did Not Participate
CB K'Waun Williams (knee) – Limited Participation
