The hits for Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady‘s offensive line keep coming.
Aaron Stinnie, who has been competing for the Bucs’ starting left guard spot, was carted off the field after suffering a left knee injury in the second half of a preseason game against the Tennessee Titans on Saturday. Stinnie was ruled out for the rest of the game, a 13-3 Bucs loss.
Stinnie was injured on a 1-yard run by running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn, when Titans free safety Adrian Colbert went to tackle Vaughn, and the three got tangled inside. Stinnie, an undrafted free agent out of James Madison who spent the first two years of his career with the Titans, was visibly upset.
It has been a difficult training camp for the Bucs’ offensive line, which is still coping with the loss of Pro Bowl guard Ali Marpet to retirement and Alex Cappa to free agency.
Just three days into camp, Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen suffered a significant knee injury and is expected to miss significant time, although it has yet to be determined if he can return later in the season. Then this week during joint practices with the Titans, Pro Bowl right tackle Tristan Wirfs suffered an oblique injury and left practice early.
Stinnie, along with rookie Luke Goedeke and Nick Leverett, have all been competing for the left guard position, with former Patriots guard Shaq Mason already grabbing the starting right guard spot. Stinnie was considered to have a strong shot at the role. He started three postseason games for the Bucs in 2020, including Super Bowl LV after Cappa suffered a broken leg in the Bucs’ wild-card victory against Washington.
Coach Todd Bowles, asked after Saturday’s game how concerned he was about the state of his offensive line, said, “We won’t know until we get X-rays. But Goedeke — I’ve got to see the tape and looked like we couldn’t move the ball at all, regardless of who was in there. We’ll look at the tape. My concern isn’t as great right now. I’ll see the tape and I’ll go from there.”
