Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New England Patriots: Thursday's Injury Reports

Thursday's report contains a positive development for the Bucs.

We are one day closer to Tom Brady's Homecoming (aka the Week 4 matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots), therefore, it's a new day in terms of injury report information.

Wide receiver Jaydon Mickens was upgraded to a full participant on Thursday, which means he's a full-go for Sunday. Barring a dramatic setback, of course. The other change made by the Buccaneers on Thursday's report was the addition of defensive lineman Steve McClendon, who sat out Thursday to rest.

Cornerback Jamel Dean is still listed as limited, but per The Athletic's Greg Auman, he looked "fine". 

“He’s still got a couple of days to get ready," Bruce Arians told reporters in reference to Dean. "You play at 100 percent your first year. After that, it’s all pain tolerance. We’ll see how he looks in a couple of days.” 

The Sunday statuses of tight end Rob Gronkowski, running back Giovani Bernard, and outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul still remain in the air due to all three being listed as non-participants for the second day in a row.

There was just one addition/change to the Patriots injury report and that's the addition of second-year safety Kyle Dugger, who seems to be dealing with some type of hamstring issue. This will be something to keep an eye on Friday and leading up to the game. Dugger plays a rather large role on the defense, evidenced by his 86% snap share through the first three weeks. Outside of Dugger, nothing else changed from Wednesday's report.

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.