INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -Tampa Bay’s tenuous running back situation got even thinner Sunday when Michael Pittman was carted off the field with a sprained ankle during the Buccaneers’ 33-14 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
The versatile Pittman, starting at tailback for the first time this season because of the year-ending knee injury Carnell “Cadillac” Williams suffered last week, was hurt when he was tackled by linebacker Tyjuan Hagler after a 4-yard gain midway through the fourth quarter.
The 10th-year pro stood up, limped a couple of steps toward the huddle, then sat down on the ground to wait for medical attention. The entire Tampa Bay team left its sideline to surround Pittman as he was helped to his feet and onto the cart.
It was much the same scene as the previous week, when teammates showed their support for Williams, who tore the patellar tendon in his right knee during a victory over the Carolina Panthers.
Coach Jon Gruden described Pittman’s injury as a sprained ankle, but said his status will be updated on Monday.
“We’re calling it that right now,” Gruden said. “We don’t know the severity of it.”
Pittman, held by the Colts’ swarming defense to minus-1 yard rushing on five carries, was replaced by Earnest Graham, a fourth-year special teams contributor who seldom played on offense before Williams was slowed by sore ribs in the first three weeks of the season.
Graham gained 11 yards on six carries, and the Bucs finished with just 17 yards rushing on 12 attempts after running for 182 and 189 yards against St. Louis and Carolina the previous two weeks.
The Bucs went three-and-out on five of their first six possessions and had just 74 yards total offense heading into the fourth quarter. They finished with 177 on 40 plays – the third fewest number of snaps ever run against the Colts.
“We only had three plays in the whole third quarter,” Gruden said. “You do the math there. You’re not going to get much going without the ball.”
Gruden declined to speculate what the Bucs might do about the depleted running back situation. For the time being, it looks like Graham is the starter and rookie Kenneth Darby, who began the season on the practice squad, is his backup.
Pittman, the starter during Tampa Bay’s 2002 Super Bowl run, is the team’s best receiver out of the backfield and also serves as a backup fullback.
“He’s a guy who can do so many things for us. He will be missed,” quarterback Jeff Garcia said.
“It’s a very disappointing loss in losing a guy like that because of the attitude that he brings, the physical toughness that he brings, the knowledge of the offense he brings. … He’s a quality player for this team. He’s been a quality player for a number of years.”
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