Cameron Brate Injury: What happened to the Bucs TE?

Cameron Brate, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end, left the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on a stretcher after a hit to the head. The Buccaneers tight end missed last week’s game against the Atlanta Falcons due to a previous head injury.

He cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol earlier this week, paving the way for him play in this week's game.

Brate was placed on the backboard and carted off the field in Pittsburgh after taking a hard hit to the helmet in the third quarter. The 31-year-old gave the crowd at Acrisure Stadium a thumbs-up as he exited the field on a stretcher.

To no one's surprise, Brate was quickly ruled out, but Tampa Bay did give a somewhat optimistic update on his status in the locker room:

"Cameron Brate has been ruled out for the remainder of today's game. Brate has movement in all of his extremities and continues to be evaluated further."

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Cameron Brate and his time with the Buccaneers

Cameron Brate

Tampa Bay signed the undrafted free agent out of Harvard before the start of the 2014 season. He was second on the team back in the 2016 season in touchdown receptions with eight and in receiving yards with 660 yards.

He has 2,783 receiving yards and 33 touchdowns in 33 games across nine seasons with the Buccaneers.

Given that it's his second injury to the head in as many weeks, the tight end might be out for Tampa Bay's next game versus the Carolina Panthers. We'll see what happens to Brate as he'll likely enter concussion protocol.

The Buccaneers were 3-2 going into their match against the Steelers and in need of a morale-boosting win. Since not much is expected of their opponents, nothing short of a comprehensive win would be satisfactory for the team and its fans.

The injury to Brate is a big setback. As of now, it makes for a gloomier prognosis of an already troubled season for the Bucs.