The Bucs defense took another hit Friday when the team announced that linebacker Kendell Beckwith had been placed on the reserve/non-football injury list with an ankle injury that will force him to miss his second consecutive season and, worse, might be career-ending, TampaBay.com reported.
A third-round pick from LSU in 2017, Beckwith's ankle was broken in an auto accident in April 2018 while home in Louisiana. He was a passenger riding with former Tigers teammate Lamin Barrow.
The ankle required surgery, and he began last season on the non-football injury list. He attempted to come back in late October but was unable to make his way back on the field.
Friday's news comes a little more than a week after Buccaneers defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul sustained a broken vertebra in his neck when he crashed his Ferrari into a concrete barrier May 2 on on I-95. If Pierre-Paul's neck requires surgery, he could miss the 2019 season, too.
Beckwith, 24, played every linebacker position as a rookie in 2017, recording 73 tackles, one sack and a forced fumble.
The decision to place him on the reserve/non-football injury list came after numerous evaluations from orthopedic specialists and was not totally unexpected, according to TampaBay.com.
The Bucs drafted LSU linebacker Devin White No. 5 overall last month and signed Cardinals free agent Deone Bucannon in the offseason.
