Pittman still hurting; Ratliff cut

During a conversation I had with him this morning, running back Michael Pittman (ankle) said the rumblings about his potential move to injured reserve are misguided.

But that doesn't mean the veteran is ready to return to the lineup. Right now, he is pretty much conceding this week. His goal, he said is to be back for next weekend's game at Houston or for the Bucs' return to RayJay the following week (Dec. 16) for the Atlanta game.

With Pittman's looming absence, the Bucs announced they have promoted running back Lionel Gates to the active roster. Gates took the spot of cornerback Keiwan Ratliff, who was released. The former Gator didn't appear in either of the two games that were played while he was on the active roster. We hardly knew ya, Keiwan.

Hopefully Jon Gruden will share some more concrete news on the quarterback situation this afternoon, so check back later. My gut tells me he won't go there, but we'll ask him anyway for the fun of it.