Bucs vs. Falcons: Tom Brady, Kyle Pitts, more injured ahead of Week 5 matchup

Ahead of their Week 5 matchup on October 9, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons have released their preliminary players’ injury reports.

The Bucs confirmed that veteran quarterback Tom Brady had missed out on the practice on Wednesday. The 45-year-old sustained multiple injuries in one of his fingers and right throwing shoulder.

Brady was among four players who were missing. The other three were defensive lineman Akim Hicks (legs), safety Logan Ryan (legs), and tight end Cameron Brett (concussion).

Tampa Bay also listed five players as limited participants on Wednesday and a single player as a full participant. In total, there are 10 players on the injury report.

Brady, Hicks, Ryan and Brett’s injuries came following a 41-31 Week 4 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Brady, who served as the starting quarterback, recorded 39 successful passes out of 52 attempts for 385 yards, along with three touchdowns for head coach Todd Bowles and his men.

Meanwhile, in Atlanta, the team had two players skipping practice⁠—tight end Kyle Pitts (hamstring) and punter Bradley Pinion (personal). However, the real issue for the Falcons for Week 5 lies in the absence of two offensive playmakers⁠, Pitts and running back Cordarrell Patterson⁠, who entered the injured reserve much earlier this week.

Falcons head coach Arthur Smith shared an optimistic take on Patterson after announcing the RB was out for a knee procedure. Despite a lack of a timetable, Arthur was adamant that the player would return “sooner rather than later.”

“It was something that he had been managing. I’m not the doctor, but you’re trying to weigh all that, and there’s nothing that he did that put it at any further risk. You got to assess if it’s something that you want to have week-to-week and how’s it going to go,” Smith said.

“We have a great medical team, and CP, I hate to talk for him, but obviously he wouldn’t have played if that had been the case. Just something that will help him more importantly in the long run and help the team.”