Hilliard's Shoulder A Concern For Gruden Anwar Richardson, The Tampa Tribune, published 10 December 2007 Jon Gruden was greatly concerned about WR Ike Hilliard's shoulder injury after Tampa Bay's 28-14 loss to Houston. Hilliard's injury occurred in the second quarter with the game tied at 7. On third-and-7 from Tampa Bay's 16-yard line, Hilliard caught a short pass from Luke McCown and gained 12 yards, but he was hit hard by Houston S Will Demps and fumbled. Demps recovered Hilliard's fumble on Tampa Bay's 26-yard line, returning it to the 23. Hilliard lay on the ground for several seconds and eventually walked off the field with 6:14 remaining before halftime. He never re-entered the game. "We lost Ike Hilliard today, which really compromised us," Gruden said. "He is a clutch, go-to guy for us on third downs, especially. We're searching right now to find out his availability for next week." Hilliard was unavailable for comment after the game. This season, Hilliard has battled through a knee, calf and ankle injuries, but started in 11 of 13 games. Entering Sunday's game, Hilliard led the team with 55 receptions, for 635 receiving yards (second best on the team) and one touchdown. If Hilliard is unable to play against Atlanta, WR Michael Clayton likely will start, WR Maurice Stovall will receive more playing time and the Bucs probably would activate WRs Taye Biddle, Chad Lucas or Brian Clark from their practice squad. "I don't know exactly what Hilliard's injury is. He's had a number of nicks and nags here the past couple of weeks," Gruden said. "He's the toughest guy that I've ever coached at that position. I don't want to take anything away from anybody else, but I'm concerned about his overall health right now. He's beat up a little bit right now, but we need him back."