Logan Mankins Injury: Updates on Buccaneers OG's Knee and Return

Amid what was already just about the worst imaginable start for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Thursday night's game, offensive guard Logan Mankins went down with a knee injury against the Atlanta Falcons.

Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reported the unfortunate news to emerge from the Georgia Dome:

Yet Mankins was back on the field to start the second half according to the Around the NFL Twitter account:

After the game, Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times had Mankins' take on the injury:

As is implied, Mankins has dealt with problems to his knee recently, hyperextending it in a season-opening loss to the Carolina Panthers.

Even before last week's loss to the St. Louis Rams, Mankins didn't appear convinced he was all that healthy, per Roy Cummings of The Tampa Tribune:

Mankins was acquired through a trade with the New England Patriots just before the season began. The move appears to be a disastrous one for Mankins, and even his best play wouldn't be able to help Tampa Bay too much at the moment.

It appears the Bucs are destined to drop to 0-3 on Thursday and are already 0-2 in the NFC South in light of the Falcons' 35-0, halftime lead. Whatever Mankins' status is from a medical standpoint moving forward, the tenure of new Tampa Bay coach Lovie Smith is off to an ominous start.