Buccaneers G Alex Cappa Broke His Arm in 2nd Qtr vs. Saints, Didn't Miss 1 Snap

A broken arm couldn't keep Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive guard Alex Cappa out of Sunday's 31-24 loss to the New Orleans Saints.  

"I commend Alex Cappa. He broke his arm in the second quarter and played the entire game," head coach Bruce Arians told reporters Monday, per Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today. "He'll miss a few weeks. But it's next man up."

Cappa didn't think much of the broken arm, telling reporters after the game it was "just a bruise," per Trevor Sikkema of PewterReport. 

Tampa's injury woes on the offensive line are serious, however. Right tackle Demar Dotson is dealing with a hamstring injury and is already ruled out for the team's Week 6 matchup with the Carolina Panthers.

"We can't make excuses, but we'll have a new right side of our line, probably," Arians noted.

That could be trouble against Carolina's defense. According to Jenna Laine of ESPN, Carolina is "currently 10th in the NFL in generating pressure on 30 percent of dropbacks, and the Panthers have the fourth-highest sacks per dropback rate at 9.2 percent, according to ESPN's pass-rush metrics powered by NFL Next Gen stats."

The Panthers could look to test that new right side of the line—likely Earl Watford at right guard and Josh Wells at right tackle—early and often in an effort to get after Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston.

The Bucs have already had issues keeping Winston upright, giving up 18 sacks in five games, tied for 26th in the NFL. Despite that, Winston is having a decent season, throwing for 1,371 yards, 11 touchdowns and five picks while completing 61.4 percent of his passes.

One plus for the Buccaneers is that they have a bye week after the matchup with the Panthers in London, giving their beat-up line a chance to get healthy. But going into the bye week with a 3-3 record, rather than 2-4, would be far more palatable for the Bucs.

The play of Watford and Wells will be a major factor in that regard.