The Tampa Bay Buccaneers escaped Monday night's matchup against the Houston Texans with a 20-19 victory, but it didn't come without a cost.
On the second play of Tampa's second drive of the game, starting right tackle Luke Goedeke suffered a foot injury, immediately signaling to the coaching staff that someone needed to replace him.
The 26-year-old was ruled out for the rest of the game and was seen on crutches by several reporters after the game, prompting some to worry about how severe his injury truly was.
According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Goedeke avoided suffering a season-ending injury but he's still expected to miss a significant amount of time.
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"Bucs RT Luke Goedeke avoided major injury Monday night but is expected to miss time, possibly multiple weeks, per sources," Fowler reported. "The belief is that Goedeke re-aggravated a foot injury he battled during the practice week."
Goedeke, who signed a four-year, $90 million contract on Sept. 4, has started 40 games over his four-plus year NFL career. He initially injured his foot in Tampa's Week 1 win over the Atlanta Falcons. He missed two days of practice during the week because of it, but still gave it a go on Monday night.
The former second-round pick has played 950 or more offensive snaps the last two seasons, allowing a combined three sacks, 61 pressures, 47 hurries, and five QB hits, according to Pro Football Focus.
With Goedeke out, the Bucs will likely turn to journeyman Charlie Heck. The 28-year-old lineman has played 1,409 offensive snaps at right tackle and 80 at left tackle throughout his six-year career with the Bucs, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, and Houston Texans.
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