Neither offensive tackle Carl Nicks nor kicker Lawrence Tynes played in the Buccaneers’ preseason game against the Patriots last week. Now, we know why.
Nicks and Tynes were both diagnosed with a serious staph infection– also referred to as MRSA — last week during practices with the Patriots in Foxboro, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortenson. Tynes was forced to undergo surgery on an infected toe earlier this week. Both players will be sidelined indefinitely.
The Bucs were forced to “nuke” their entire facility because of the MRSA outbreak, as general manager Mark Dominik explained it.
“We had a company come in and nuke the building a week ago after the cultures taken from Nicks and Tynes confirmed it was MRSA,” Dominik said. “It was a precautionary move, but we didn’t want to fool with it. Our owners said spare no expense. We had the facility treated, and the league office approved of our actions.”
The organization had to sanitize the entire facility, including bathrooms, locker rooms, clothing, towels and anything else that might hold the infection. The Buccaneers are in Miami for a game against the Dolphins on Saturday, so it would appear that the rest of the team is safe from the outbreak — for now, at least.
Have a question for Luke Hughes? Send it to him via Twitter at @LukeFHughes or send it here.
