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The Buccaneers’ hopes of moving from a winning record last season to a playoff berth this season rely on strong play from several members of their team, including defensive tackle Gerald McCoy.

That means there will likely be some crossed fingers that McCoy is able to avoid an absence from the lineup due to injury. At the moment, an absence of that nature appears to be a possibility.

Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports that McCoy is being checked for a possible groin/pelvic injury. He may have an MRI as part of the evaluation, but Stroud adds that the team does not believe at this time that any issue is a serious one.

McCoy missed one game in each of the last two seasons while racking up 15.5 sacks as a playmaker in the middle of the Tampa defensive line. Chris Baker, Clifton McDonald and Sealver Siliga are other veteran options at defensive tackle should the Bucs be without McCoy for any amount of time.