The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were already shorthanded in the secondary coming into Thursday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles, and it didn't take long for them to lose another player.

Cornerback Richard Sherman suffered a hamstring injury during Thursday's game and will reportedly miss "a couple weeks," per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, who added the cornerback won't miss the remainder of the season.

Coming into the contest with Philadelphia, Tampa Bay was without cornerbacks Carlton Davis and Sean Murphy-Bunting, safety Antoine Winfield, and linebacker Lavonte David coming into the game, so the absence of Sherman is all the more concerning.

The reigning champions signed the veteran to a one-year deal in part to cover for the absences of Murphy-Bunting and Davis.

Sherman is a five-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro selection who was arguably the best cornerback in the league when he was a member of the Legion of Boom secondary on the Seattle Seahawks. He also won a Super Bowl in Seattle.

While the veteran is likely past his prime at this stage of his career, he had seven tackles and a fumble recovery in his first game with Tampa Bay against the New England Patriots. He followed that up with three tackles against the Miami Dolphins.

The Buccaneers may be looking at a situation where their offense has to carry them for some time until the defense is healthier later in the season.

They are as well equipped to do that as any team in the league with Tom Brady, Mike Evans, Antonio Brown, Mike Evans and Leonard Fournette, but defending their championship will still be difficult if their defense continues to lose players to injuries.