Tampa Bay BuccaneersPro Bowl guard Davin Joseph was carted off the field Friday night with what appeared to be a potentially serious left leg injury during the second quarter of the preseason game against the New England Patriots.
On a first-and-10 play with just over a minute remaining in the first half, Patriots rookie defensive end Chandler Jones was blocked into the back of Joseph's leg after attempting a spin move on Buccaneers left tackle Donald Penn. Joseph immediately grabbed his left knee, and his teammates called for medical attention.
Joseph was replaced at right guard by Ted Larsen.
A first-round draft pick out of Oklahoma in 2006, Joseph has started 83 of 84 regular-season games during his six-year NFL career that includes two trips to the Pro Bowl (2008, 2011).
Joseph finished the 2010 season on injured reserve with a broken foot, but he returned to start all 16 games last season and, according to official NFL playing-time documents, play all 1,021 of the Buccaneers' offensive snaps.
Joseph is in the second season of a seven-year, $52.5 million contract that included $19 million in guaranteed money. Joseph's $9.5 million base salary for the 2012 season is fully guaranteed.
UPDATE: Joseph suffered a season-ending knee injury, a source with knowledge of his condition told NFL.com and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
Joseph later tweeted that the injury could have been "worse."
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