It's been a rough 24 hours for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
On top of Sunday's ugly loss to the Vikings, the club on Monday learned they'll go without Lavonte David for "a month or more," a source told NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.
The Bucs star linebacker was diagnosed with a medial ankle sprain following an MRI, an injury he suffered in the final quarter of Tampa's 34-17 loss to Minnesota.
David's injury typically carries a 4-6 week timeline, but the Bucs are hopeful he can return before that.
"I think you're jumping the gun on Lavonte," Bucs coach Dirk Koetter said Monday, per the Tampa Bay Times. "It's not as bad as it looked, No. 1. It looked bad. X-rays were negative."
Sunday also saw defensive end Noah Spencesuffer a dislocated shoulder while Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy was seen in a walking boot after aggravating his right ankle.
This all came on a day when defensive tackle Chris Baker, end Jacquies Smith, cornerback Brent Grimes and middle linebacker Kwon Alexander were also sidelined due to various illnesses and injuries.
It's another reminder that the best teams by season's end are often the healthiest. Other setbacks we're following coming out of Sunday's action:
- It was an awful Week 3 for Darren Sproles. Philadelphia's Mr. Everything broke his arm and tore his ACL on the same play in Sunday's win over the Giants. Sproles was placed on injured reserve will miss the rest of the season.
Eagles coach Doug Pederson also announced defensive lineman Fletcher Cox and linebacker Jordan Hicks are "OK" and "day to day."
- Vikings coach Mike Zimmer told reporters Sam Bradford remains day to day with the knee injury that has kept him sidelined the past two weeks.
- Panthers coach Ron Rivera told reporters that Kelvin Benjamin's MRI results "came back good" after the wideout suffered a knee injury early in Sunday's loss to the Saints, per the team's official website. We'll monitor this one closely all week.
- Rivera also said that center Ryan Kalil (neck) is "doing a lot better," but his availability for Week 4's tilt with the Patriots remains a mystery for now.
- Good news on Seattle's Doug Baldwin, who was brilliant on Sunday despite the Seahawks losing to Tennessee:
In not-so-good news for Seattle, Rapoport reported special teamer Dewey McDonald is believed to have torn his ACL.
- Chicago Bears coach John Fox said safety Quintin Demps suffered a broken arm in Sunday's win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
- Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn told reporters safety Ricardo Allen is in the concussion protocol, while receiver Julio Jones (back) will be limited in practice. Quinn is not concerned about Jones' availability against the Bills this weekend, however.
- The San Francisco 49ers placed defensive lineman Tank Carradine on injured reserve. Carradine suffered an ankle injury in the team's Week 3 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
- Los Angeles Chargers running back Melvin Gordon is dealing with a bone bruise in his knee, which limited him on Sunday against the Chiefs, Rapoport reports. The injury is believed to be minor, Rapoport adds.
- Baltimore Ravens defensive end Brent Urban has a Lisfranc foot sprain and is believed to be a long-term injury, Rapoport reports. Urban will see a specialist to determine how long he will be sidelined.
- Good news on the Andrew Luck practice front in Indianapolis:
