On Monday, Head Coach Bruce Arians said he didn't expect injured cornerback Richard Sherman to be back in action "anytime soon." As such, it came as no surprise when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers placed Sherman on injured reserve on Wednesday afternoon.
Sherman suffered a calf injury during pregame warmups on Sunday at Washington and was immediately ruled out for the game. He had been expected to start in his first game back since recovering from a hamstring injury. Now Sherman will be required to miss at least three games before he will be eligible to return to the active roster.
The Buccaneers did not announce a corresponding move and thus now have two open spots on their 53-man roster. The team also did not sign another player after placing cornerback Rashard Robinson on injured reserve last Friday.
Tampa Bay now has four cornerbacks on injured reserve, with Sherman and Robinson joining Sean Murphy-Bunting and Carlton Davis. However, Murphy-Bunting has returned to practice and is eligible to be activated at any point through November 23. The Buccaneers have three players who are currently practicing while on I.R., including wide receiver Scotty Miller and long-snapper Zach Triner. The open roster spots could be used to bring any of those three off injured reserve if the Buccaneers choose to do so.
Sherman signed with the Buccaneers on September 29 after the initial wave of injuries hit the Buccaneers' secondary. He played in three games, starting all three, and turned in 11 tackles and one fumble recovery. However, he suffered a hamstring injury early in the third contest, at Philadelphia in Week Six, and hasn't played since.
