Tampa Bay Buccaneers Wide Receiver Should Miss Week 15

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be short a major x-factor for their Week 15 showdown with the Cincinnati Bengals. Wide receiver Julio Jones is expected to sit on Sunday as he recovers from a lingering knee injury.

While he may work out pre-game to see where it stands, the #Bucs are not expected to have WR Julio Jones today, source said. He's been dealing with a knee issue and was listed as questionable after being limited all week.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 18, 2022

Jones has been in and out of the lineup all year with various ailments and injuries. He has appeared in eight games for the Buccaneers this year, typically playing about half the offensive snaps when healthy.

The Buccaneers acquired Jones earlier this year hoping he could provide an explosive complement in a loaded receiving corps, but his inconsistent health has been just another problem for the Bucs to juggle in a frustrating season. The Bucs have fallen all the way from second in points scored in 2021 to 29th this year, and Jones has caught a mere 22 balls for 284 yards.

Jones entered the league as the Atlanta Falcons' sixth overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. He hauled in an amazing 848 receptions for 12896 yards over 135 appearances with the team, averaging an astonishing 95.5 receiving yards per game. Unfortunately, injuries have cost him 19 of a possible 46 games since 2020. He could be nearing the end of a career that should earn him a spot in the Hall of Fame.