Injury Update, Latest Browns News

In a new feature on Tuesdays called Bucs Intel, Pewter Report offers up the latest Bucs news and injury updates after the previous game and takes a quick preview of Tampa Bay’s upcoming opponent. Week 2 sees the Buccaneers host the Browns in Tampa Bay’s home opener. Both teams are 0-1 after Week 1 losses.

Latest Bucs Injury Update

The only significant injury coming out of the Bucs’ 33-27 loss at Cincinnati in Week 1 was cornerback Jacob Parrish, who left the game in the first half and did not return after suffering a back injury while trying to make a tackle. Parrish, who had a pass breakup in the red zone against Ja’Marr Chase, received an MRI and an X-ray on Monday and the results came back negative, which is a great sign moving forward.

“Yeah, he just has a back sprain,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said. “Both [the] X-ray and MRI came back negative, so it’s just a matter of him getting over his soreness.”

Parrish’s status for Sunday’s game against the Browns won’t be known for a few days, but Benjamin Morrison is ready to start in his place if called upon. Morrison filled in for Parrish after the injury and played well, finishing with four tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass breakup.

“I thought he played very well,” Bowles said. “He prepared well. He practiced like that all week. When he got in the game, he didn’t miss a beat. He tackled well. He covered well. I thought he did a heck of a job.”

Rookie Keionte Scott, the team’s fourth-round pick, wound up starting at nickelback and that will continue in Week 2, especially if Parrish isn’t able to play.

The Bucs are hopeful that wide receiver Jalen McMillan can play this week. He was held out of the season opener after returning to practice last week from a knee injury he suffered in practice in August. We’ll know more about his status for Week 2 when practice resumes on Wednesday, in addition to the injury status of running back Sean Tucker (hamstring) and reserve tackle Justin Skule (oblique).

Browns Sticking With Deshaun Watson At QB – For Now

The Browns got destroyed in Jacksonville by the Jaguars, falling behind 31-0 before losing 34-10 in Week 1. New head coach Todd Monken is sticking with embattled quarterback Deshaun Watson for another week despite not being able to put any points on the board until a field goal in the third quarter that came on the heels of a 74-yard kick return.

Watson, who completed 16-of-22 passes (72.7%) for 205 yards with one touchdown and one interception, in Week 1, has been a pariah among Browns fans for failing to live up to expectations after a blockbuster trade to acquire him from Houston in 2022. That was the year that Cleveland jettisoned former first-round pick Baker Mayfield, who has gone on to win two NFC South championships in Tampa Bay since arriving in 2023.

Forty-six of Watson’s passing yards came on a garbage time touchdown to rookie Denzel Boston with less than two minutes left.

“It’s only been two weeks that he’s gotten all the reps,” Monken said. “And there were some really good things on film – some things that you can build on. And there were some others that – you know, operationally, we’ve got to get better at. There’s concepts that, there’s only so many looks you get from week to week, be it red zone concepts, third-down concepts.

“I did think that when he had time, when he understood the concepts, he didn’t play tentative, that he let it rip. Even the touchdown at the end, sure that was garbage time, but that was on their [No.] 1 corner. That was one of their starters out there. And that was a communication between him and the receiver. So, there were a lot of things to build on. Was it perfect? Of course not, otherwise we wouldn’t have scored as few of points as we did. But I’d like to see how we can build on that. I like his week of practice last week. And I think he’s only going to continue to get better.”

Watson also scrambled six times and led the Browns in rushing yards with 38, in addition to being sacked five times and not displaying good pocket awareness at times.

In addition to multiple accusations of sexual misconduct from female massage therapists upon his arrival in Cleveland, Watson has dealt with multiple injuries and ineffective play and hasn’t come close to living up to his five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract. He even angered Browns fans after the preseason with some callous remarks that he had to walk back.

This has called for Browns fans to want second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders to take over. If Watson struggles early against Tampa Bay, Monken could turn to Sanders and then possibly start him next week in Cleveland’s home opener.

Bucs Need To Create A Homefield Advantage Early In 2026

The Bucs have not had much of a homefield advantage at Raymond James Stadium since going 7-1 at home, which tied a franchise record, during the 2021 season. That year, Tampa Bay won a franchise-best 13 games.

Since Todd Bowles took over as head coach in 2022, the Bucs are just 18-16 at home with a pair of 4-4 seasons and a pair of 5-4 seasons at Raymond James Stadium, including last year. Bowles is 3-1 in home openers at Ray-Jay, including last year’s win over the Jets in Week 3, and is 4-0 as Tampa Bay’s head coach in Week 2.

2022: Bucs 4-4 at home
2023: Bucs 5-4 at home
2024: Bucs 4-4 at home
2025: Bucs 5-4 at home

Tampa Bay’s home opener is this week against Cleveland and then the team has two more consecutive games at home versus the 1-0 Minnesota Vikings and the 0-1 Green Bay Packers over the next two weeks. Then it’s a Thursday Night Football game at Dallas, which is 0-1, in Week 5 before another home game versus 1-0 Pittsburgh.

That’s four home games in Tampa Bay in the first six weeks to start the 2026 season. Now would be the perfect time for the Bucs to improve their home record under Bowles and start the 2026 season strong by creating some actual home field advantage.