Bucs’ Rob Gronkowski, Antoine Winfield Jr., Lavonte David out vs. Eagles

TAMPA ― The Bucs will play their third game in 11 days Thursday, and Rob Gronkowski will miss all of them.

The tight end, who suffered cracked ribs and a collapsed lung in a loss to the Rams Sept. 26 in Inglewood, Calif., is among three Tampa Bay players out for the Thursday Night Football game against the Eagles.

Safety Antoine Winfield Jr., who has been in concussion protocol since the win at New England on Oct. 3, and linebacker Lavonte David, who suffered an ankle injury Sunday against the Dolphins, also did not accompany the team to Philadelphia.

In addition, center Ryan Jensen (hip), outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul (hand/shoulder) and defensive lineman Patrick O’Connor (calf) are questionable. However, each of those players were full participants at Wednesday’s practice.

Bucs quarterback Tom Brady, who suffered a thumb injury in the first half of the Bucs’ 45-17 win over the Dolphins, participated fully on Wednesday and will start Thursday night’s game as expected.

With David out, the Bucs will start veteran Kevin Minter at inside linebacker. Safety Mike Edwards will make his second straight start for Winfield at safety.

• • •

Sign up for the Rays Report weekly newsletter to get fresh perspectives on the Tampa Bay Rays and the rest of the majors from sports columnist John Romano.

Never miss out on the latest with the Bucs, Rays, Lightning, Florida college sports and more. Follow our Tampa Bay Times sports team on Twitter and Facebook.