Gruden: Pittman could be out 6-8 weeks

Bucs running back Michael Pittman could be out six to eight weeks with an ankle injury, coach Jon Gruden said in his weekly news conference on Monday.

Pittman injured his right ankle during the second quarter of Sunday's 33-14 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Gruden described the injury as "a pretty good sprain,'' but said the Bucs will know more when they receive the results of an MRI later today.

Gruden said the Bucs will "look, obviously, to see what possibilities are out there,'' in terms of replacements. In the meantime, Earnest Graham will become the starting tailback, and rookie Kenneth Darby will be elevated on the depth chart.

Comments

[Dave]

Please GOD, let Tiki come out of retirement to come and play with his brother.

[Rich]

The Bucs are screwed

[tunamanz]

The BUCS were screwed way before this injury. They were screwed when they hired Jon Gruden!

[Ed]

Maybe now that he's off his feet, Pittman can get in the weight room and work on his arms.

[tnt]

You'll be sorely missed, Mike. Enthusiasm and Ethic - you have some of the best. Get Well Soon and don't forget who you were when you come back! Bigger, Faster, Stronger.
Graham will do fine - very patient, he just needs an awesome FB to follow.

I agree with you (tnt), Graham will do just fine. What's the word on this Andrews kid?

[Scott]

The Bucs are fine. They have a good coach who sticks by his team. Thank god they do not have that clown Parcells who tries to find good situations to join and then jumps ship after he realizes that team is not playing for him. Go Bucs!

[dante]

Looks like we might have to break out the old Suckaneers.

[Phil J.]

Hey, with a couple pounds of weed and a bucket of KFC we could get Ricky Williams real cheap!

[Alex]

Don't get me wrong, we could use a tailback and spending a draft pick on one hardly seems excessive right now. Turner cost too much. Forget that idea. Especially when we have a 1rd rb. Now...Who cares who the running back is?? If your line can open holes like Indy did to us, anybody can run. We did that when we had Pettigout. The Bucs should focus on getting a LT with experience (excluding Kenyatta Walker).

[Alex]

Don't get me wrong, we could use a tailback and spending a draft pick on one hardly seems excessive right now. Turner cost too much. Forget that idea. Especially when we have a 1rd rb. Now...Who cares who the running back is?? If your line can open holes like Indy did to us, anybody can run. We did that when we had Pettigout. The Bucs should focus on getting a LT with experience (excluding Kenyatta Walker).

[Steven Tamayo]

Someone needs to teach our players how to take a hit. And how to catch. And block. Oh wait... isnt that what coaches are for?

[Clint]

I still think giving up a first or second rounder for Turner is worth it. Turner would be a starter anywhere in this league. Caddy may not be coming back. We'll have to use a draft pick on a RB anyway this up coming draft anyway. A new draft back will take time to develop, while Turner is ready now. Pull the trigger.

[Blah]

Graham should be fine.

The O- Line looked horrible !

What happened???????????

[Tim]

Hey Blah...... They played a "REAL" team Sunday.. THAT'S what happened...

[bob]

I have two words for you. Lars Tate. Time to bring back Lars Tate.

[BD27]

Clayton and Cadillac are useless. They have one good rookie season and nothing after that. What has Clayton done in the past 3 years? And a name like Cadillac couldn't be more fitting, they pay a lot for him, always broke down and when they go to get rid of him they will get nothing for him. The Bucs need to get people who can recongnize talent and start doing better with their draft picks. I like John Gruden, I think Bruce Allen needs to go.

[peyton18]

Come on Bucs fans, you only lost 1 game. Don't throw your coach or you D coach under the bus. Any fan who's team plays cover 2 knows what their up against. "Bend but don't break". We Colt fans know how frustrating it can be. I got alot for respect for "CHUCKY". I've always liked him because he is a strait shooter. I'm also glad to see knowbody is useing injuries for a crutch either. Hope Pittman comes back soon! Please beat the Titans!!! GOOD LUCK!!! GO COLTS!!! PS, Good reading your comment "DR"!!

[mh001]

The Buc's are probably a 9 to 11 win team this year. The Colts are a 13-15 win team. When a 9-11 win team goes on the road to play a 13-15 win team they normally go down. In the 20 minutes of time we had the ball 14 points is OK, Peyton is just the best going around. You think Vince Young can disect us for 6 ten play scoring drives ?

Joey Galloway dropped all of those catches on 3rd down. The only catch I saw a Colts receiver drop was when Tanyard Jackson cleaned Dallas Clarks clock.

[aaron]

micael turner is NOT too expensive. he is an everydown back. 5'10" 240 lbs. he is a beast. we may never get caddy back, and he certainly wont be the same as before. turner is young and fresh. he has been buried behind the best rb in the league. if we get him HE could be one of the best in the league. remember when we almost traded for larry johnson a few yrs ago? should have right!? well now we have another chance to get that type of back, an everydown brusier. he has only been in the league 4 yrs, so there is still a lot of tread on those tires. while the caddy is in the shop, go get the Escalade!