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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers officially placed veteran cornerback Richard Sherman on injured reserve prior to Week 11 of the 2021 NFL season. He suffered an injury to his calf during pregame warmups prior to the Buccaneers' Week 10 game against the Washington Football Team. He was a late scratch for the game and is now set to miss time while on injured reserve.
How long will Buccaneers CB Richard Sherman be out?
Richard Sherman will be forced to miss a minimum of three games after being added to injured reserve. The length of the absence will be determined by how long it takes him to fully heal from a Grade 2 calf strain. The strain is better than a complete tear or rupture, which likely would have knocked him out for the remainder of the season.
It is estimated that the type of injury suffered by Richard Sherman generally takes four to eight weeks to recover from. That is a significant amount of time, but the Buccaneers are fortunate that, at least for now, it seems like he should be fully ready to go before the playoffs. That is likely going to be the number one goal for the Buccaneers, so they probably won't try to rush him back at all.
The impact of Richard Sherman's injury
Richard Sherman is a huge loss for the Buccaneers. They already have two of their other top cornerbacks, Carlton Davis and Sean Murphy-Bunting, on injured reserve as well. Their passing defense is vulnerable and probably the biggest weakness of their entire team. Most recently, they allowed Taylor Heinicke to complete 72 percent of his passes for over 250 yards in an upset victory.
The Buccaneers currently rank 22nd in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game. They were ranked last earlier in the year, so they have improved a bit. This is disappointing compared to their rushing defense, which is the second best in the NFL. Richard Sherman was signed in free agency to help improve on this weakness of the Buccaneers and to add depth due to all of the injuries.
While Richard Sherman may no longer be one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, he is still a solid player. What he has lost athletically in his later years he makes up for with intelligence and intensity. He is a veteran leader with a ton of experience, appearing in three Super Bowls with two different teams. He is hoping to help the Buccaneers to another one this season when he returns from his calf injury.
