The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are already thin at the receiving position and they continue to get thinner. With Jameis Winston struggling with rookie issues, the Buccaneers need as many playmakers as they can get in order to climb out of the depths of the NFC South. The injury to Louis Murphy is not helping things improve.
According to Andrew Astleford of ESPN.com, Murphy is officially out for the season after tearing his ACL in the Week 7 game against the Washington Redskins. The team's No.3 receiver went down in the loss after a 29-yard catch in the first quarter. The receiver has 578 yards with the team since arriving in 2014. Now his injury puts pressure on the rest of the offense. For now, Donteea Dye will step into the No.3 role, but do not expect the rookie who was promoted from the practice squad to have the trust of Winston right away.
"I'm sad that we had our players go down. We had V-Jax [Vincent Jackson] and Murph go down for a little bit. But it's just a role I've got to step into now. But they helped me be prepared. ... I'll go out there and do my best," Dye said, via ESPN.com.
The injury to Murphy only highlights the injury to Austin Seferian Jenkins who has been on and off the field all season. The tight end is dealing with shoulder injuries and continues to be a game-time decision, hurting chemistry with Winston. The tight end was not active against the Redskins despite the Buccaneers hoping he would return. He could be back by the game against the Atlanta Falcons. Until then, Mike Evans must step up and improve as the starting wide receiver. He had a big Week 7 with 164 yards and a touchdown and needs to continue to capitalize.
For fantasy purposes, if Seferian-Jenkins can return to the field, he could be a key threat against the Falcons who struggle to defend over the middle. However, Atlanta's run defense struggled on Sunday and it could mean a big game for Doug Martin and Charles Sims. Both running backs are working well in tandem. Martin is back in the fantasy football good graces after having 136 yards on the ground and another 35 yards through the air in Week 7.
The Buccaneers cannot afford more injuries. The team is trying to get Winston going in the right direction, but a lack of offensive weapons is certainly not making anything easy. He looked improved in the loss to the Redskins and he needs to capitalize off the momentum.
"I'm really nobody in this league yet, so they don't have to worry about me," Winston said via the team website. "I have great teammates that do a great job and we have a great team. That's what I think the biggest thing about this league is: You have complete team wins. ... I think this game is just a complete team game, whereas college, one person basically can take over the game."
