It wasn't the news Bucs fans wanted to hear on Friday after watching left guard Ali Marpet return to practice this week. He remains in concussion protocol as of Friday afternoon and Head Coach Bruce Arians said they would have to see how he was doing on Saturday before knowing his availability for Sunday's game.
After sitting out Thursday's practice, the Bucs did get cornerback Carlton Davis back in a limited capacity. That was welcomed news after Davis woke up with soreness in his knee Thursday morning. Arians said they'll see how Davis' knee responds tomorrow in order to make their decision on his status for Sunday. Wide receiver Jaydon Mickens was also added to the report on Friday and is questionable for Sunday's game as well.
The Panthers downgraded running back Reggie Bonnafon to a non-participant on Friday and he is one of four players ruled out for the Panthers, including fellow running back Christian McCaffrey. A known game-wrecker on the ground and through the air, the Bucs won't have to contend with a large part of Carolina's offense now.
Read below for the full injury report for both teams:
Buccaneers
CB Carlton Davis (knee) – Limited Participation – QUESTIONABLE
G Ali Marpet (concussion) – Limited Participation – QUESTIONABLE
WR Jaydon Mickens (not injury related) – Did Not Participate – QUESTIONABLE
OLB Shaq Barrett (shoulder) – Full Participation
ILB Lavonte David (knee) – Full Participation
WR Chris Godwin (finger) – Full Participation
TE Rob Gronkowski (not injury related) – Full Participation
WR Tyler Johnson (not injury related) – Limited Participation
NT Steve McLendon (shoulder) – Full Participation
WR Scotty Miller (hip/groin) – Full Participation
CB Sean Murphy-Bunting (groin) – Full Participation
OLB Jason Pierre-Paul (knee) – Did Not Participate
DL Ndamukong Suh (not injury related) – Did Not Participate
Panthers
RB Reggie Bonnafon (ankle) – Did Not Participate – OUT
RB Christian McCaffrey (shoulder) – Did Not Participate – OUT
T Russell Okung (calf) – Did Not Participate – OUT
DE Stephen Weatherly (finger) – Did Not Participate – OUT
S Jeremy Chinn (knee) – Full Participation – QUESTIONABLE
DE Yetur Gross-Matos (ankle) – Full Participation – QUESTIONABLE
DE Marquis Haynes (shoulder) – Full Participation – QUESTIONABLE
CB Donte Jackson (toe) – Full Participation – QUESTIONABLE
DE Justin Larkin (groin) – Limited Participation – QUESTIONABLE
DE Brian Burns (groin) – Full Participation
RB Mike Davis (toe) – Full Participation
DT Bravvion Roy (groin) – Did Not Participate
TE Ian Thomas (not injury related) – Removed
LB Tahir Whitehead (not injury related) – Removed
*Bold denotes change from previous day
