Antonio Brown, Lavonte David out for week seven vs Bears

The Buccaneers will be without plenty of starters on Sunday as they take on the Chicago Bears

It’s been something to monitor all week and now we have an answer – Antonio Brown will not be playing against the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Joining AB on the sideline will be linebacker Lavonte David, tight end Rob Gronkowski, and cornerback Richard Sherman. Those are added to the list of players that have been out for extended time already – cornerbacks Carlton Davis and Sean Murphy-Bunting and wide receiver Scotty Miller.

O.J. Howard is listed as questionable as is edge rusher Jason Pierre-Paul even though Pierre-Paul hasn’t practiced all week. JPP has been dealing with multiple injuries and may be getting as much rest in-between Sundays as possible.

This means increased roles for players like wide receiver Tyler Johnson as well as cornerbacks Dee Delaney and Pierre Desir, who both saw plenty of snaps last week against the Philadelphia Eagles. It also means that Chris Godwin may finally get that breakout performance so many have been waiting on.

For the Bears, they have their own issues to deal with. Defensive back Tashaun Gibson will be out with a hip injury. Listed as questionable for Chicago are wide receivers Jakeem Grant (ankle) and Allen Robinson (ankle), defensive tackles Bilal Nichols (knee) and Akiem Hicks (groin), tight end J.P. Holtz (quad), linebackers Khalil Mack (foot) and Caleb Johnson (knee), and defensive back Duke Shelley (ankle).

The biggest names to keep an eye on are Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks. If those guys can’t play, it will severely impact the Bears’ ability to get pressure on Tom Brady which will lead to the ability to pick apart a secondary that doesn’t have the firepower to stop the Buccaneers’ pass catchers, limited as they are.

You can view the entire injury report below;

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