Jenna Laine, ESPN Staff Writer 7y

Bucs defensive end Robert Ayers returns to practice

TAMPA, Fla. -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Robert Ayers returned to practice Wednesday for the second time since suffering an ankle injury in Week 2.

Ayers had returned to practice previously on Oct. 6, just prior to the Monday Night Football game against the Panthers, and he was limited that day. After that, he hadn’t been back on the field practicing until Wednesday.

While his teammates were in full pads, he was in shorts. During the 30-minute portion of practice that was open to the media, he participated in some blocking drills and even had his hand in the dirt. He was not exploding out of his stance, but he was jogging out to the field

Ayers, 30, had 9½ sacks last season as a member of the New York Giants. He was one of the Bucs’ key free-agent acquisitions this offseason, signing a three-year deal worth $21 million with $10.5 million guaranteed, making him the seventh-highest-paid player on the team.

In less than two full games this season, Ayers registered four tackles and a sack. Between training camp, the preseason and in his limited action this season, he was living up to his top billing as a disruptive pass rusher who put opponents in a bind if they opted to double-team Gerald McCoy. In addition to lining up at right defensive end, he'd line up next to McCoy on the inside, creating what looked to be a ferocious tandem and something this team had been lacking.

The Bucs' defensive line has been severely plagued by injuries this year. In training camp, George Johnson suffered a fractured hip. In the first game of the regular season, Jacquies Smith, who registered 13½ sacks in 27 games over the last two years and led the team with four sacks in the preseason, suffered a torn ACL.

Against the Denver Broncos, rookie Noah Spence suffered a dislocated shoulder and partially-torn labrum, while Pro Bowler Gerald McCoy suffered a calf injury and Clinton McDonald suffered a hamstring injury. Remarkably, Spence was back out on the field the next week against the Carolina Panthers -- a game where they were without three starters on the defensive line -- and has continued playing with a shoulder brace.

McCoy returned to action last week against the San Francisco 49ers, recording a sack, a batted-down pass, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. McDonald returned to practice last week on a limited basis but did not play. He was also practicing Wednesday with the team and wearing pads.

The Bucs take on the AFC West division leaders, the Oakland Raiders, this Sunday at home, and they could really use some of their starters back on the defensive line. The Raiders feature the eighth-ranked scoring offense with a talented young quarterback in Derek Carr and an offensive line that's allowed just seven sacks in seven games this year, the best mark in the NFL. Carr has thrown 13 touchdowns already, sixth-most in the NFL, and he's been picked off just three times.

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