The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are entering Week 15 without their special teams starters at their disposal.
Tampa Bay placed kicker Ryan Succop, punter Bradley Pinion and long snapper Zach Triner on the reserve/COVID-19 list, five days out from their Week 15 bout with the Atlanta Falcons.
It's not clear yet whether any of the three starters tested positive for COVID-19 or were simply close contacts with someone who tested positive. That designation will affect their statuses for Sunday's game.
Tampa Bay doesn't employ backups at kicker, punter or long snapper on the active roster but do boast kicker Greg Joseph on the practice squad. In conjunction with Tuesday's COVID list placements, the Buccaneers announced they used a practice squad protection on Joseph, preventing any team from signing him off the practice squad this week.
If he is called upon in place of Succop, Joseph can lean on a season's worth of NFL placekicking experience. In 16 games played for the Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans in 2018 and 2019, Joseph connected on 17 of 20 field-goal attempts and 34 of 38 extra-point tries.
In 13 games played this season, Succop has hit on 24 of 26 FG attempts and 38 of 41 XP attempts. His 92.3 field goal percentage is a career-best. Pinion is also enjoying a banner year ,as the punter (and kickoff specialist) is averaging a career-best 45.6 yards per punt.
Tampa Bay has also brought in punter Dustin Colquitt, kicker Brett Maher and long snapper Garrison Sanborn for visits, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero via the transaction wire.
