Davin Joseph suffered a season-ending injury in Friday night's preseason victory over the New England Patriots, removing a crucial piece of Tampa Bay's offense. The standout right guard is indeed headed to injured reserve, according to a tweet from NFL.com's Ian Rapoport.
A brutal blow for
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 25, 2012#Bucs with G Davin Joseph heading to Injured Reserve. Essential for protecting QB Josh Freeman, mauler in run game
The Bucs were hoping to build the running game as a key part of the offense in 2012 behind the efforts of LeGarrette Blount and rookie Doug Martin. Without Joseph, that plan becomes significantly more difficult to implement. Ted Larsen replaced Joseph in Friday night's game against the Patriots, but it's unreasonable to think that he'll be able to bring a level of play that would match that of Joseph, a Pro Bowl player.
Tampa Bay's offense didn't have an easy road in front of them, and with the loss of Joseph it only gets harder.
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