The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints meet at Raymond James Stadium about an hour from now, and the Bucs have announced their inactives for the game.
As expected, defensive tackle Gerald McCoy is out with an ankle injury suffered against the 49ers last week. Running back LeGarrette Blount is also inactive as he recovers from what is believed to be an MCL sprain. (With a trans-Atlantic flight following this game, and a bye to follow that, it wouldn’t be a surprise if both of them sat out next week’s game as well and got healthy for the rematch with the Saints at the Superdome after the bye.)
The Bucs’ other inactives are Sammie Stroughter, Luke Stocker, Zac Diles, Derek Hardman, and James Lee.
However, safety Tanard Jackson, whose NFL suspension ended earlier this week, will start for the Bucs. Tampa Bay activated Jackson quickly once the league reinstated him, but it will be interesting to see how fit he is to jump right back into NFL action after sitting out over a year… especially against the dynamic New Orleans offense.
Only Zach Strief is a notable inactive for the Saints, but his absence was already expected.