NFC Notes: Buccaneers, Packers, Seahawks, Vikings

Buccaneers

• Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston visited with Dr. James Andrews on Tuesday regarding his shoulder injury and the plan is for him to spend the next two weeks rehabbing, according to Bill Vilona.
• Rick Stroud reports that Winston’s visit to Dr. James Andrews was simply a consultation.
• Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times expects third-round WR Chris Godwin to see an increase in playing time now that Mike Evans has officially been suspended one game.

Packers

• Packers HC Mike McCarthy said there is “no timeline” for S Morgan Burnett to return from a groin injury, but he will not be available to play in Week 10. (Wes Hodkiewicz)
• While McCarthy said OT Jason Spriggs (hamstring) will practice this week, he is still unavailable to play against the Bears this weekend. (Michael Cohen)
• McCarthy said OT Justin McCray was being treated on Tuesday for an ankle injury. (Michael Cohen)

Seahawks

• According to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, Seahawks RB Eddie Lacy “sounds unlikely” to play in Week 10’s game due to a groin injury.
• Seahawks OC Darrell Bevell said RB Thomas Rawls is set to start Sunday’s game: “Thomas (Rawls) is going to be our guy.” (Bob Condotta)

Vikings

David Chao of the Union-Tribune writes that the surgery on Sam Bradford‘s knee most likely wasn’t a simple “clean up” as had been reported.

The expectation was that Bradford was going to have “several loose particles” removed from his knee, smooth out “a bone spur” and clean up “some ragged cartilage.” However, Chao explains that whenever bone is trimmed, there are exposed bleeding bone surfaces, and this delays the ultimate recovery.

With this in mind, Chao says that a perfect outcome for Bradford’s knee would be a minimum of 4-6 weeks recovery, which means he would likely be able to return for playoffs. Although, reports have said that the Vikings’ decision to put him on injured reserve will most likely end his 2017 season.

Chao mentioned that if all Bradford needed was a simple clean up, he would have missed just 2-3 weeks and wouldn’t need to be placed on injured reserve. Unfortunately, Chao believes Bradford had a knee that was on a “downward spiral” that was ultimately accelerated by the bone bruise he previously sustained.

While Chao can’t say that Bradford’s career is over, his longevity in the NFL and potentially his mobility may be affected.