Buccaneers' Robert Ayers: Sheds cast Wednesday

Ayers has shed the cast on his ankle, but is still not practicing, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports.

Analysis:

After exiting the Bucs' Week 2 tilt versus the Cardinals with his injury, Ayers missed all of practice last week, as well as the Week 3 loss to the Rams. The veteran defensive end's absence resulted in an uptick in William Gholston's tackle numbers and didn't seem to hinder Tampa's stalwart run defense, as they still managed to contain Todd Gurley to the tune of 3.1 YPC. If he logs another DNP on Thursday, Ayers will seemingly be on his way to missing another contest.