Buccaneers Get A Shock: Tanard Jackson Suspended

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers received news Tuesday that shook the team to its core.

Starting safety Tanard Jackson has been suspended for four regular season games for violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy.

The news broke Tuesday afternoon and was reported on WDAE radio and on TBO.com.

The suspension of Jackson could bring the Jermaine Phillips to linebacker experiment to an end, at least for now.

Head coach Raheem Morris sat in for an interview on WDAE and didn't mention the Jackson suspension but did say he's been giving Phillips some work at his old safety position.

"When Will Allen got hurt, it made me think and we've had Flip (Phillips) back there (safety). It's important for him to pick up the different terminologies."

General manager Mark Dominik was obviously disappointed and expressed his feelings to WDAE host Steve Duemig about the Jackson situation:

"It's extremely disappointing for the football team and disappointing for his teammates," Dominik told Duemig. "It's so confidential. I feel bad for his teammates. We have worked Jermaine Phillips at safety and he'll continue to work at linebacker and safety."

Jackson can continue to practice and play in the preseason but will miss the first four regular season games, without pay.

The suspension comes as the latest line of bad news for the Buccaneers.

The team put punter Josh Bidwell on injured reserve and he's lost for the season. That leaves the punting to Dirk Johnson. The Bucs have said they may bring in some other punters to compete with him.