The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and its backfield took a hit of late after learning that running back Charles Sims has sustained a knee injury, forcing them to put the veteran on the injured reserve list, according to Greg Auman of The Athletic.

Sims hurt his knee during the opening kickoff of last Saturday’s preseason road game against the Tennessee Titans. He was immediately sent to the locker room and never returned to the contest, which was not the best of signs with regards to the extent of his injury.

Even before he felt pain in his knee, though, Charles Sims was not considered a lock to crack the team’s final 53-man roster. If anything, Sims’ latest health trouble only makes his 2018 outlook a bit murkier at the very least.

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The injury was initially believed to be a minor one, but his placement on the IR tells otherwise. The Bucs could exercise an option to release Sims once he’s healthy, so that the running back can find a new team to latch on.

Last season, Sims played 16 games and recorded just 95 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries, but he made a bigger impact as a pass-catching back with 249 receiving yards and a touchdown on 35 receptions.

For now, Tampa Bay has Peyton Barber, Jacquizz Rodgers, Ronald Jones, Shaun Wilson, and Dare Ogunbowale filling in the spots on the team’s running back depth chart. Barber has impressed in training camps and in the preseason, paving the way for him to be the top candidate for the Bucs’ starting running back role.