Buccaneers TE O.J. Howard Out for Season with Achilles Injury

Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end O.J. Howard (80) in 2018. Photo by Jacob Kupferman/CSM/Shutterstock (9960484ab)

Tampa Bay Buccanneers coach Bruce Arians said after Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers that he feared that tight end O.J. Howard had ruptured his Achilles and that he would be out for the season.

Unfortunately for the Bucs, that’s exactly what was confirmed after Howard went in for an MRI.

It’s a shame for the Buccaneers offense that is just getting going with legendary quarterback Tom Brady at the helm. They beat the Chargers in a shootout on Sunday 38-31, with Brady throwing five touchdown passes.

Howard was having a very productive afternoon before he went down in the second half. He caught three passes for 50 years, one of which was a 28-yard touchdown reception.

A first-round draft pick in 2017, Howard was playing this year to earn a big contract extension after the team picked up his fifth-year option. He was playing well too, tallying eight receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown in the first three weeks of the season.

Even though it’s bad news for Howard, who just started to click with Brady, the good news for Tampa Bay is that they are pretty deep at the tight end position with veteran Rob Gronkowski and Cameron Brate ready to contribute in both blocking and pass-catching.

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