Bucs head coach Bruce Arians provided an update on a couple of defensive starters from Sunday night’s 19-17 win at New England.

Cornerback Carlton Davis III suffered a quadriceps injury in the first half and had to be helped off the field and carted to the locker room. Free safety Antoine Winfield, Jr. suffered a possible concussion in the second half and is currently in the concussion protocol.

After the game Arians said that it looked like it might be a while until Davis can play. On Monday he suggested that the Bucs will also be without Winfield this Sunday when the Miami Dolphins come to town.

“Getting back so late to Antoine, it’s going to be hard to get out of the protocol this week probably,” Arians said. “Just because of the timing and the trip. Carlton is in the MRI tube and I don’t know how long the injury is going to be. So we’ll have more guys that are going to need to step in and step up.”

Bucs CB Carlton Davis III – Photo by: USA Today

Davis is the third starting cornerback to go down with an injury this season. Sean Murphy-Bunting dislocated his elbow in the season opener against Dallas, while Jamel Dean injured his knee last week in Los Angeles. Arians praised the play of new cornerbacks Richard Sherman, who was signed on Wednesday, and Pierre Desir, who had to fill in at New England.

“It’s amazing,” Arians said of Sherman’s play. “He played really, really well. He had the one penalty, but I was really, really pleased with Sherm and Pierre. I thought they both went out there and played really, really good. The bright side is it’s just going to better, too – the more they learn what they hell they’re doing, too.”

Sherman was tied with Winfield for the team lead in tackles with seven, and the five-time Pro Bowl cornerback recovered the fumble that Winfield forced on Sunday. Arians and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles could turn to Mike Edwards or veteran reserve Andrew Adams to replace Winfield.

“This week fortunately we had Mike Edwards to step in for Antoine,” Arians said. “We’ll see who is going to back up those guys this week.”