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Tampa Bay Bucs running back Earnest Graham, who leads the team in rushing yards and touchdowns, might be finished for the 2008 season with an ankle injury. Earnest was hurt on his only carry in yesterday’s 19-13 win over the Minnesota Vikings, limping off after landing awkwardly when he was tackled after a 3-yard gain. Bucs head coach Jon Gruden was not optimistic during his presser today:

“I believe Earnest Graham’s ankle looks to be a serious injury and his status for the rest of the season is very much in question right now. It doesn’t look like he’ll play anytime soon. I’m just very disappointed for our guy Earnest. He means a lot to us. He’s done so much for us here in the last couple years. He’s a key reason why we are where we are. We’ll have to make some adjustments, obviously.”

Among those adjustments would be getting running back Cadillac Williams into the lineup alongside Warrick Dunn. Cadillac was just activated last week after spending over a year rehabbing a potentially career threatening knee injury. If there were any silver lining to Earnest’s injury, at least as far as the team is concerned, it’s that Cadillac is back. How far back and how effective he will be remains to be seen, though.

Source: Buccaneers.com, Photo: Newscom

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Earnest Graham Ankle Injury Serious

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After spending more than a year in rehab following a gruesome knee injury early last season, Tampa Bay Bucs running back Cadillac Williams is back on the team’s active roster. The Bucs made the expected move today, activating Cadillac from the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform List to their 53-man roster. To make room, the Bucs released veteran running back Michael Bennett, who was quickly claimed by the San Diego Chargers (see note below). Cadillac was thrilled to be back at practice:

“I’ve put in a lot of work. I’m just excited. In these next few weeks we’ll see what happens.”

There’s really no way to predict how well Cadillac will perform. I’m sure he’ll have some trepidation and it will take some time, and a few hits, to get the confidence in his knee back. But he certainly won’t have to carry the workload. He’ll simply compliment fellow running backs Earnest Graham and Warrick Dunn. It’s a matter of depth at the position and Cadillac should be able to ease his way back into the lineup as a sidekick. Too bad his return (if he plays this weekend, that is) is against the National Football League’s third-best run defense (70.1 ypg) in the Minnesota Vikings. Nevertheless, it’s a great story that I hope has a happy ending.

Note: Concerning Michael Bennett, apparently the Chargers claimed him off waivers just to keep him from signing with the running back depleted (and AFC West rival) Denver Broncos. Both the Broncos and Chargers put in claims on Michael, but the Chargers have a worse record so they got priority. Funny how that works. Or not funny if you’re a Broncos fan.

Source: Buccaneers.com, Photo: Newscom

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Cadillac Williams Returns to Bucs Roster