ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ wide receiver Russell Gage will miss the entire 2023 campaign after suffering a knee injury in a joint practice with the NY Jets on Wednesday. Gage had been battling back from a neck injury he suffered on a hit in January’s playoff loss to the Cowboys.

Gage, 27, made a catch on “relatively low” short pass from Baker Mayfield before seemingly being “routinely pushed to the ground” by a Jets defender, according to Joe Bucs Fan. Pewter Report tweeted that Gage could not put any weight on his leg after he went down, while team reporter Scott Smith said that Gage was in “obvious duress” while being attended to by trainers. Gage will undergo medical tests to confirm the severity of the injury. Bucs head coach Todd Bowles told reporters: “We wish him the best … I could tell that the way he was sitting on the truck that something pretty bad happened. Our hearts go out to him.”  

Gage was originally a sixth-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2018 out of LSU; and in four seasons with Atlanta, he caught 193 passes for 2,065 yards and nine touchdowns. Gage signed a three-year deal with the Buccaneers last offseason; he caught 51 passes for 426 yards and a career-high five touchdowns in 13 games played in 2022, his first year with the Buccaneers.

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