Arians: Murphy-Bunting's injury could be season-ending

Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians: CB Sean Murphy-Bunting's injury could be season-ending

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 9/14/21

The injury news continues to get worse for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the defending Super Bowl champions prepare to host the 0-1 Atlanta Falcons this coming Sunday.

It was learned Monday that Buccaneers long snapper Zach Triner is expected to miss 10-12 weeks of action because he requires surgery to repair a torn tendon in his finger, and cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting also went on injured reserve due to the dislocated elbow he suffered in the first quarter of last Thursday's victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

Per Greg Auman of The Athletic, Bucs head coach Bruce Arians offered an update on Murphy-Bunting's potential recovery timeline, and the news wasn't promising:

Arians says Sean Murphy-Bunting’s elbow injury could be season-ending. They’ll know more in two days or so. Could be as little as four weeks in a best scenario.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) September 14, 2021

In corresponding moves on Monday, Tampa Bay added journeyman veteran cornerback Pierre Desir to its practice squad. Arians suggested Desir, in his eighth pro season, could be activated sooner than later:

Arians said Bucs will see how quickly Pierre Desir can pick up the defense, but they wanted veteran help at outside corner and he’ll bring that.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) September 14, 2021

Murphy-Bunting led the Buccaneers with three interceptions and five pass breakups during the postseason run that ended with quarterback Tom Brady winning his seventh career Super Bowl ring, so Arians understandably hopes the 24-year-old is only on IR through the first weekend of October.

Per rules for the 2021 season, a player on IR must miss a minimum of three games before he's eligible to return. Arians' latest comments hint Murphy-Bunting will be sidelined through at least the middle of next month.

Zac Wassink is a football and futbol aficionado who is a PFWA member and is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment. Erik Lamela and Eli Manning apologist. Chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. Whoops. You can find him on Twitter at @ZacWassink.

More must-reads: