Tampa Bay Buccaneers Injury News: Lavonte David, Evan Dietrich-Smith

Tampa Bay Buccaneers star weak-side linebacker Lavonte David broke out as an elite player last season with 145 tackles, six sacks, five picks, and nine passes defended in a thorough display of season-long, all-around dominance at the linebacker position. He already has 115 tackles this season, though he hasn’t put up similarly gaudy statistics in the passing game (no sacks or picks so far this season).

David missed last week’s loss to the Chicago Bears with a hamstring injury after being listed questionable, as he couldn’t suit up as a game-time decision. Unfortunately, it looks like he will be questionable to play this week, as Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times reports that David still isn’t practicing due to that hamstring injury. The Bucs have a tough opponent on tap in the Cincinnati Bengals, and David’s absence would be a huge blow against the duo of Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard.

Per Auman, offseason signing and veteran center Evan Dietrich-Smith is also not at practice, and he adds that we will receive an update from head coach Lovie Smith as to the nature of EDS’s absence. Auman tweets that Dietrich-Smith’s inability to practice could be related to an illness as opposed to an injury, which, in most cases, is better. The Buccaneers can’t afford to lose him against Geno Atkins and the Bengals front seven, so his status is definitely worth monitoring closely, too.