Buccaneers' A.Q. Shipley May Have Career-Ending Neck Injury, Bruce Arians Says

Tampa Bay Buccaneers center A.Q. Shipley may have suffered a career-ending neck injury during his team's game against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday.

Bucs head coach Bruce Arians provided the news on Sirius XM NFL Radio on Wednesday, per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.

"A.Q. Shipley appears to have had a career-ending injury," Arians said. "And I feel bad because I love A.Q. He's one of my favorite players of all time and was playing good for us. But I think it was a previous injury that might have just got aggravated in his neck."

Arians told reporters postgame Monday that Shipley had suffered a stinger but would be OK.

The ex-Penn State lineman did not take part in Wednesday's practice. Afterward, Arians said that the team would "see more on A.Q. [Thursday]."

However, it appears Shipley's prognosis has unfortunately taken a turn for the worse.

Shipley has played five games this season, starting two. He stepped into the starting lineup after guard Ali Marpet suffered a concussion. Center Ryan Jensen moved to guard, and Shipley stepped into the center role.

The 34-year-old was taken in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He won the Dave Rimington Trophy as the best center in college football in 2008, when Penn State won the Big Ten and made a Rose Bowl appearance. Shipley was a team captain.

Shipley was on the Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles practice squads for three years before making the Indianapolis Colts' active roster in 2012 as their backup center.

He was traded to the Baltimore Ravens after the year but headed back to Indianapolis upon being waived. Shipley then signed a contract with the Arizona Cardinals (then coached by Arians) in 2015. He called Arizona home through 2019, making 51 total starts.

The Bucs signed Shipley to a one-year deal in August. Per Pro Football Reference, he is currently one of just 16 NFL draftees from the class of 2009 who are still active.