Who’s out Sunday?
When Bucs coach Todd Bowles spoke with the pen and mic club after practice today, he mentioned four players who will not suit up in Atlanta on Sunday to open the season.
We know about Chris Godwin and Tristan Wirfs. Those two are no-brainers. However, two defensive backs will be out as well on Sunday.
Christian Izien is dealing with an oblique injury. He will not play. And apparently, Benjamin Morrison is still hampered by a hamstring injury. But Morrison’s absence may have more to do with missing so much practice in training camp and preseason than his bum hamstring.
Bowles had mentioned this week that Morrison missing so much time has put him behind the eight ball as far as being mentally prepared to take the field for a real NFL game.
As for Vita Vea and his foot injury, it seems like more than a few Bucs players may need to invest in new mattresses. Vea, Bowles said, woke up with a bum foot recently one morning and has been “sore” since.
Joe’s heard Bowles mention mysterious injuries as the result of players waking up hurt before. Maybe if Team Glazer can get a mattress company to join forces with the team on a marketing deal — mattress stores seem to be in every strip mall — that the Bucs could swing a deal with one of these dozens of local mattress stores that the players can buy a mattress at cost.
Maybe that will then prevent these wake-up-one-morning-and-be-hurt injuries.
[Per NFL.com](https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-week-1-injury-report-player-statuses-for-all-16-games-2025-season?campaign=Twitter_atn), for the Dixie Chicks, offensive lineman Jack Nelson (calf) and safety DeMarcco Hellams (hamstring) are both out. Receiver Darnell Mooney is questionable with a bad shoulder.