Myriad injuries make ugly defeat a potentially costly one for Bucs By the end of Sunday's damp, dismal affair at Levi's Stadium, the Bucs found themselves wondering if they left their health in San Francisco. At one point in the second half, they were down to five available defensive backs. Rookie Zyon McCollum was removed in the first half and evaluated for a concussion, while fellow cornerback Jamel Dean suffered a third-quarter toe injury. McCollum eventually returned; Dean did not, and had his left foot in a protective boot afterward. Ninety minutes before kickoff, starting safeties Mike Edwards (hamstring) and Antoine Winfield Jr. (ankle), and cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting (quad) were deemed inactive. That left veterans Logan Ryan and Keanu Neal, and practice-squad call-up Nolan Turner, as the only options at safety; and Dee Delaney and Carlton Davis as the lone corners for one second-half stretch. Additionally, edge rusher Joe Tryon-Shoyinka suffered an unspecified hip injury, while nose tackle Vita Vea exited with a calf strain. Coach Todd Bowles had no immediate update on Dean, Tryon-Shoyinka or Vea; and indicated the availability of Edwards, Winfield and Murphy-Bunting for next Sunday's home game against the Bengals is a wait-and-see situation. "It doesn't matter if they're on the field or not, we've got guys that step in and play," Bowles said. "You've got to step up when your number's called. You get the chance to show you can play, you've got to play." Perhaps the Bucs' most encouraging takeaway on an otherwise abysmal afternoon was how they evidently have made an upgrade at return specialist. Five days after waiving second-year returner Jaelon Darden, undrafted rookie Deven Thompkins stepped in and produced the season's longest kick return, a 54-yarder to start the second half. Thompkins averaged 24.6 yards on five kick returns and had punt returns of 11 and 10 yards. His only apparent glitch was a fumble on his first punt return that rolled out of bounds. "He gave us a spark," Bowles said. "He's got to hold onto the ball, but he gave us a spark. He's quick, and we know he can do some things with the ball, and he showed that (Sunday)." Joey Knight, The Tampa Bay Times, published 12 December 2022