EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Russell Gage will miss the entire season after tearing the patellar tendon in his right knee during a joint practice session with the New York Jets on Wednesday.
Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles confirmed Gage's injury Thursday after the team practiced on its own at the Giants' training facility.
The news was expected after Gage went down early in 7-on-7 drills with a non-contact injury that Bowles said Wednesday appeared “pretty serious.” Gage appeared to be in tears as he was carted off and tests revealed what he and the Buccaneers feared.
Gage, who had 51 catches for 426 yards and a career-high five touchdowns last season in his first year with Tampa Bay, was expected to be the Buccaneers' No. 3 wide receiver behind Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
Second-year receiver Deven Thompkins and sixth-rounder Trey Palmer are among those who could compete for Gage's spot, along with veteran David Moore and undrafted rookies Rakim Jarrett, Kade Warner and Ryan Miller.
“I think someone has to step up fairly earlier than probably normal, but we still have our top two guys, and we have Thompkins who’s played a lot,” Bowles told reporters Thursday. “We’d like to see somebody emerge pretty soon.”
The 27-year-old Gage spent his first four NFL seasons with Atlanta before signing a three-year, $30 million deal with Tampa Bay in March 2022. He missed four games last season while dealing with hamstring issues, and then suffered a concussion during Tampa Bay’s wild-card round loss to Dallas in the playoffs.
Tampa Bay was originally scheduled to have two joint sessions with New York leading into the teams' game Saturday night, but the Jets earlier this week asked instead to make it just one practice. Jets coach Robert Saleh cited player safety as being a primary reason, saying injuries and fights usually ramp up during the second session of joint practices.
So the Buccaneers called an audible and were able to use the Giants' facility — across from MetLife Stadium — to practice Thursday. The Giants were off from practice because they play the Carolina Panthers at home Friday night.
“The Giants were very generous and we're thankful they let us use their facility,” Bowles said.
NOTES: S Antoine Winfield Jr. sat out practice with what Bowles said was a calf injury.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
