Bucs veteran's season is over before it begins thanks to something he can't control

Training camp is all about building and improving, but honestly, the main goal for every single team is to come out of camp and the preseason as healthy as possible.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers managed to escape the first week without any major injuries, but that changed on Tuesday night when veteran guard Sua Opeta went down with a knee injury during a night practice.

The severity of the injury was unknown, due to the fact occurred a little before Bucs head coach Todd Bowles spoke with reporters. However, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Wednesday evening that Opeta tore his ACL and is out for the season.

As Fowler notes, Opeta was a free agent pickup for the Bucs back in March. He signed a one-year prove-it deal worth $1.375 million and was competing with veteran guard Ben Bredeson for the starting left guard position, which was left open after an inefficient combo of Matt Feiler and Nick Leverett failed to hold their own at the position in 2023.

It remains to be seen how the Bucs handle this internally, which is the route they'll take, first. Rookie sixth-rounder, Elijah Klein, has been competing behind right guard Cody Mauch, primarily, and Robert Hainsey has been taking reps at backup center. Those two guys are the likely candidates to "replace" Opeta, ultimately.

Could the Bucs look to an outsider, at some point? With more than $10.4 million in cap space, they could certainly sign a Connor Williams, who can play both guard and center. He'd likely win the starting job over Bredeson, too, the only problem is he's still recovering from a torn ACL that occurred back in December.

Things appear to be nearly back on track for Williams, however, as the veteran met with the Seattle Seahawks last week. That fit makes a lot of sense, as the Seahawks have some big questions along the interior offensive line.