The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were once again missing what was supposed to be a big part of their offensive line, when G Carl Nicks didn’t show up for OTAs on Tuesday, according to the Tampa Tribune’s Ira Kaufman.
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Nicks missed much of last season with foot injuries, and was even told that the outbreak of the MRSA virus in the Bucs locker room last season may have caused permanent damage to his foot.
Prior to Tampa’s OTAs beginning, Nicks The AP:
“I’m not a percentage guy. Obviously, I’m not ready to practice right now, but I feel comfortable saying I’ll be back for training camp.There’s some nerve damage. So it’s going to be pain, I’m told, for the rest of my life. Lovie [Smith, the team’s head coach] told me the other day my 80% is still pretty good. If I’m not 100%, hopefully I can get to 95 or 99.9.”
So was this a foreshadowing to not showing up for OTAs or any other workouts prior to camp beginning?
Head coach Lovie Smith is a bit mum on the subject.
It’s probably not fair to call Nicks a “bust”, but the truth is between injuries, coaching issues and just some lackluster play on his part, the big-time guard who signed a big-time contract with the Buccaneers in 2011 just really hasn’t panned out.