Despite having already had their bye week, the Buccaneers have given up more points than any other team in the NFL — in six contests, Tampa Bay has surrendered 204 points, good for an average of 34 per game. Today, the Bucs’ defense took another hit when the league announced that defensive end Da’Quan Bowers has been suspended two games for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports).
The league’s new policy on PEDs calls for suspensions of up to six games for first-time violations, but the use of a diuretic or masking agent results in just a two-game ban. And Ian Rapoport of NFL.com confirms (via Twitter) that Bowers’ failed test came as the result of a diuretic, which explains the relatively modest penalty.
Let’s check in on the Bucs’ rivals, and round up the news from elsewhere in the NFC South…
- Following the season-ending injury suffered by center Peter Konz, the Falcons signed offensive lineman Jonathan Scott, but the team also auditioned fellow lineman Thomas Austin, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
- The Saints just got Mark Ingram back this past week, but now they’ll be without another running back, according to Rapoport, who tweets that Pierre Thomas is expected to miss two or three weeks with a shoulder injury.
- Offensive tackle Bruce Campbell worked out today for the Panthers, a league source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link).