Injured Buccaneers WR Antonio Brown Spotted With Crutch

Could the Tampa Bay Buccaneers be without wide receiver Antonio Brown for a second week in a row?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown was sidelined against the Chicago Bears in Week 7 while nursing a sprained ankle, according to Bucs head coach Bruce Arians.

Besides Arians' brief description of the injury, little was revealed in terms of the seriousness of the wound. However, a clue was offered on Wednesday when reporters spotted Brown at Buccaneers practice getting around with the assistance of a crutch.

Not a good sign for Antonio Brown as he showed up at practice with a crutch. He missed last week's game with an ankle sprain. #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/rTfBXSQ4M8

— Kyle Burger (@kyle_burger) October 27, 2021

Obviously, this is far from an ideal sight to see in regards to the Buccaneers' offense. So long as Brown is unable to practice, which should be the case so long as he's in need of a crutch, Tampa Bay will be without one of its top offensive weapons.

In three games between his placement on the reserve/COVID-19 list and the ankle injury, Brown put together an impressive 23 receptions for 280 yards and three touchdowns. On the year, Brown has caught 29 passes for 418 yards and four scores.

Second-year pro Tyler Johnson primarily stepped up in Brown's place this past weekend and caught two passes on as many targets for 16 yards.

According to various reports, the Buccaneers saw a handful of contributors return to practice on Wednesday, including tight end Rob Gronkowski, linebacker Lavonte David, and cornerbacks Richard Sherman, Jamel Dean and Dee Delaney. Team health appears to be trending in the right direction, but of course, all eyes will be on Brown's recovery as his contributions to the Buccaneers' offense this year have been substantial.

If Brown isn't able to play in Week 8 against the New Orleans Saints, he'll have an additional week to recover after the game as the Buccaneers will be idle in Week 9.

Stay tuned to AllBucs for further coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and other NFL news and analysis. Follow along on social media at @SIBuccaneers on Twitter and Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sports Illustrated on Facebook.