Bucs’ TE O.J. Howard to miss rest of season
Suffered ruptured Achilles tendon in victory on Sunday
Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end O.J. Howard will miss the remainder of the season after rupturing his right Achilles tendon.
The Bucs placed the fourth-year pro on injured reserve Tuesday, the third time in Howard’s career that an injury has ended his season prematurely.
Howard, the 19th overall pick in the 2017 draft, had 11 receptions for 146 yards and two touchdowns in four games, helping the Bucs to a 3-1 start. He had a 28-yard TD reception before being injured early in the fourth quarter of last week’s 38-31 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Howard will be replaced in the lineup by Cameron Brate. The sixth-year pro has 28 career touchdown receptions but hasn’t played much this season with Howard and Rob Gronkowski handling most of the tight end duties in the Tom Brady-led offense.
49ers: Released wide receiver Mohamed Sanu, and tight end Charlie Taumoepeau from the practice squad.
Falcons: Safety Damontae Kazee will be placed on injured reserve and miss the rest of the season with a torn Achilles tendon. It was a noncontact injury as he crumpled to the field while in coverage vs. Green Bay.
Titans: Coach Mike Vrabel says Tennessee stands by how it’s followed the NFL’S protocols for the coronavirus and hopes the league will allow the team back inside the building Wednesday. The NFL’S first team to deal with a COVID-19 outbreak has had a couple of what Vrabel called “really good days” with testing, and the coach said they’re hoping for more good news early Wednesday. One positive test could derail that timeline. If allowed back inside the team’s headquarters Wednesday, that would keep the Titans (3-0) on target to host Buffalo (4-0) on Sunday in a matchup of two of the NFL’S six remaining undefeated teams. Vrabel says he’s working through a variety of schedules to be ready for when they can get back.