Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Russell Gage’s 2023 season is reportedly done before it got started as he suffered a non-contact knee injury during joint practice with the New York Jets on Wednesday.
Gage was seen carted off the field after being unable to put weight on his leg, per the Pewter Report. Gage will miss the season, according to ESPN.
While Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles didn’t definitively say that Gage would be missing the season, he didn’t sound confident a positive update was coming.
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"We hear it’s going to be pretty serious," Bowles said after practice. "He’s been battling back for the last – obviously since he's been here, it seems like. We wish him the best. I can tell by the way he was sitting on the truck that it's probably something that happened pretty bad. Our hearts go out to him, and we'll see how it goes."
Injuries plagued Gage’s 2022 season despite having a career-high five touchdowns. While he did have a hamstring injury that forced him out for three games, a scary situation unfolded when he suffered a neck injury and concussion during the team’s playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys.
Gage was placed on a backboard and carted off the field as play stopped for quite some time. He tried to get up after a wicked hit from Cowboys safety Donovan Wilson, but he punched the ground in frustration when he realized he couldn’t get up.
The Bucs signed Gage to a new contract last year, but he took a pay cut to remain with the team this season.
With Gage sidelined, the Bucs need a new starting slot receiver. Deven Thompkins could step in there, but the passing game will continue to focus on Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
In his first season with the Bucs last year, Gage had 426 yards on 51 receptions in 13 games. In his prior four seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, he had a total 2,065 yards with nine touchdowns.
