Page 27 - Florida Sentinel 12-24-21

Sports
Bucs Lose Evans, Godwin, Fournette To Injuries In Shutout Loss To Saints
MIKE EVANS, CHRIS GODWIN AND LEONARD FOURNETTE
Antonio Brown, Mike Edwards To Rejoin Bucs This Week
ANTONIO BROWN AND MIKE EDWARDS
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown and safety Mike Edwards, who were each suspended three games after an NFL investiga- tion found that they produced fake vaccination cards, will re- turn to the team this week against the Carolina Panthers.
"We look forward to having them back with the team," gen- eral manager Jason Licht said on the Buccaneers' radio pregame show before Sunday night's 9-0 loss to the New Or- leans Saints.
Neither player will face fur- ther discipline from the team. The only potential repercussion for either player would be fed- eral prosecution, as it is a third- degree felony to manufacture, possess or display a fake vacci- nation card.
Chargers TE Donald Parham, Jr. In 'Stable Condition' Following Head Injury
DONALD PARHAM, JR.
The Los Angeles Chargers later provided an update to Tight End Donald Parham, Jr.'s status on Twitter.
Parham, Jr. is currently undergoing tests, imaging and evaluation for a head injury at UCLA Harbor Medical Center and is in stable condition."
Parham, Jr. is in his sec- ond season with the Chargers. Through 14 games this season, he had 20 catches, 190 receiv- ing yards and three touch- downs.
The Chargers later pro- vided an update to Parham Jr.'s status on Twitter.
Bucs Take Another Shot At Division Title Against Carolina
TOM BRADY AND CAM NEWTON
On a night they were look- ing to clinch their first NFC South title since 2007, the Buccaneers lost Pro Bowl re- ceivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin in the first half Sunday against the Saints, Leonard Fournette in the second and they were shut out for the first time in Tom Brady's tenure as their quarterback.
The 9-0 defeat to the Saints marked only the third shoutout of Brady's NFL ca- reer with him as the starter, and first since Week 14 of the 2006 season, when he was a member of the New England Patriots and opposing Joey Harrington and the Nick Saban-coached Miami Dol- phins.
The Bucs also lost Four- nette, who has been both- ered by an ankle injury, to an
injured hamstring in the third quarter. He needed the help of two athletic trainers as he limped to the locker room.
Both of Brady's top tar- gets were ruled out to begin the second half. Godwin suf- fered a knee injury in the sec- ond quarter while falling awkwardly after a collision with New Orleans safety P.J. Williams, and Evans in- jured a hamstring and went to the locker room after a leaping third-down catch over the middle working against cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
The Bucs were already without receiver Breshad Perriman, who was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Friday, and Antonio Brown, who is serving a three-game suspension.
After failing to secure the 2021 NFC South title in a 9-0 loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 15, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will hit the road for another division contest against the Carolina Panthers, and another chance to clinch a playoff spot. Tampa Bay's next assignment is a road game in Charlotte, the first of two meetings in the last two weeks of the season. That game will kick off at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, December 26.
The Panthers fell to 5-9 on Sunday with their 31-14 loss to the Bills in Buffalo and stand 13th overall in the conference standings, two games behind the final Wild Card spot.
The Buccaneers beat the Panthers twice last season by a
combined score of 77-40, both times with Teddy Bridgewa- ter at quarterback for Car- olina. Since then, the Panthers have cycled through several other options at quarterback before ending up back where they left off in 2019. Carolina first traded for former Jets first-round pick Sam Darnold and shipped Bridgewater to Denver. Darnold started the Pan- thers' first nine games before landing on injured reserve, after which the team re-signed the most prominent player in their history, Cam Newton.
Newton has been strug- gling since he got back into league and they should win this game fairly easy. Bucs 30, Panthers 17.
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