Buccaneers' Yaya Diaby: Out Week 8 with MCL sprain
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Head coach Todd Bowles said that Diaby (knee) has been diagnosed with an MCL sprain and won't be available for Sunday's game against the Bears, Scott Smith of the Buccaneers' official site reports.
Diaby exited this past Sunday's 16-0 win over the Falcons with the knee injury, which was revealed to be a Grade 2 MCL sprain following an MRI on Monday, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Though Diaby will miss at least one game due to the injury, Bowles expressed hope that the Buccaneers' Week 10 bye would aid the edge rusher's recovery and allow him to avoid a stint on injured reserve.
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Buccaneers' Yaya Diaby: Won't return Sunday
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Diaby (knee) won't return to Sunday's game versus the Falconsm, Greg Auman of Fox Sports reports.
Initially listed as questionable, Diaby has since been ruled out for the remainder of Sunday's divisional meeting with Atlanta. As a result, David Walker will presumably absorb most of Diaby's snaps the rest of the way.
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Buccaneers' Yaya Diaby: Questionable to return Sunday
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Diaby (knee) is questionable to return to Sunday's game against Atlanta, Evan Closky of WTSP reports.
Diaby battled an illness early in the week. While it didn't impact his status for Sunday's meeting with the Falcons, a knee injury in the first half could keep him off the field for the remainder of Week 8. If that's the case, David Walker could be in line for more snaps the rest of the way.
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Buccaneers' Yaya Diaby: Explodes for 3.0 sacks in big win Sunday
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Diaby made three tackles, all of which were sacks, in Sunday's 43-13 win against Carolina.
Diaby entered Sunday without a sack to his ledger through six games, but he got on the board with a second-quarter sack of Bryce Young. Diaby didn't stop there, as he added two more sacks on back-to-back plays in the third period. Diaby's career-best regular-season tally is 7.5 sacks in 2023, and he's now nearly halfway to that mark with his trio of sacks Sunday.
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Buccaneers' Yaya Diaby: Another productive season in '25
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Diaby recorded 50 tackles (29 solo), including 7.0 sacks, one defensed pass and one forced fumble across 17 games during the 2025 season.
Diaby played in all 17 games for the third time in as many seasons to open his career, and he got to the 7.0-sack threshold for the second campaign within that span. Diaby is still looking for his first career interception, but he's now forced one fumble in each of his first three seasons and played a career-high 781 snaps in 2025. Diaby will head into the final year of his contract in 2026, although given the steady production he's delivered over his first three seasons, it's possible the Bucs may be willing to discuss an extension this offseason.
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Buccaneers' Yaya Diaby: Quiet in Week 8 win
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Diaby recorded one assisted tackle during Sunday's win over the Saints.
Diaby logged his lowest statistical output of the season versus New Orleans, despite handling a normal workload (playing 70 percent of defensive snaps). He'll look to get back on track Week 9 at home against New England. Across eight regular-season appearances, Diaby has logged 23 tackles (15 solo), including 4.0 sacks, plus one forced fumble.
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Buccaneers' Yaya Diaby: Gets to QB in Week 7 loss
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Diaby logged five tackles (two solo), including 1.0 sacks, and forced a fumble in Monday's loss to the Lions.
Diaby made a big play early, sacking Jared Goff in Tampa Bay territory and forcing a fumble that was recovered by the Buccaneers. However, his team was unable to capitalize, punting after failing to convert a first down on the subsequent drive. Diaby's sack pushed him up to 4.0 through seven games on the season.
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Buccaneers' Yaya Diaby: Solid second season
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Diaby provided 54 tackles (39 solo), including 4.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery across 17 regular-season games in 2024.
The 2023 third-round pick played in every regular-season game for the second time in as many NFL campaigns, and he upped his tackle total by 16 while playing an additional 259 snaps on defense compared to his rookie season. Diaby also logged 52 snaps in the Buccaneers' wild-card loss to the Commanders, supplying four tackles. Diaby did record three fewer sacks in the regular season despite the increased playing time, a matter he'll look to rectify as he enters the third year of his rookie deal in 2025.
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Buccaneers' Yaya Diaby: Gets to Young in Week 17 win
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Diaby finished Sunday's 48-14 win over the Panthers with three tackles (two solo), including 1.0 sacks.
Diaby was one of five Buccaneers to sack Bryce Young on Sunday, with the former taking down the latter for a 10-yard loss early in the third quarter. Diaby is now up to 3.5 sacks on the season, 1.5 of which have come over his last two games. He'll look to add to his total in Tampa Bay's regular-season finale against New Orleans next Sunday, a game in which the Buccaneers would clinch the NFC South division title with a win.
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Buccaneers' Yaya Diaby: Season high in tackles Sunday
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Diaby recorded six total tackles (five solo), including one tackle for loss, in Sunday's 26-23 overtime win over the Panthers.
Diaby impressed rushing the passer in Sunday's overtime win, as he logged three QB hits on Bryce Young despite not recording a sack. The second-year outside linebacker from Louisville has now accumulated 37 total tackles, including 2.0 sacks, and one forced fumble through the Buccaneers' first 12 games this season. He's expected to continue starting opposite Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (ankle) as part of the Bucs' top edge-rushing duo as the season progresses.
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Buccaneers' Yaya Diaby: Registers second sack of season
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Diaby logged five solo tackles, including 1.0 sacks, during Monday's 41-31 loss to Baltimore.
Diaby got his second sack of the season Monday, taking down Lamar Jackson for an eight-yard loss midway through the first quarter. The 2023 third-round pick has played at least 54 percent of the Bucs' defensive snaps in all seven regular-season games this year, and over that span he has accrued 19 tackles (15 solo), including 2.0 sacks, and one forced fumble.
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Buccaneers' Yaya Diaby: Practices in full Wednesday
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Diaby (ankle) was a full participant in Wednesday's practice session.
Diaby sustained a high-ankle sprain in late July, which kept him out of training camp for all of August, but he appears healthy enough to participate in team drills. The 2023 third-round pick is slated to start at outside linebacker opposite Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. In his rookie season, Diaby recorded 38 tackles (25 solo), including 7.5 sacks, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries over 17 regular-season games.
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Buccaneers' YaYa Diaby: Impressive numbers in finale
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Diaby recorded six tackles (three solo), including a sack, in the Buccaneers' 9-0 win over the Panthers on Sunday.
Diaby recorded one of three takedowns of Bryce Young on the afternoon, giving him 2.5 total sacks over the final three games of the campaign. The rookie third-round pick enjoyed a productive first pro season that saw him compile 39 tackles (25 solo), including 7.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble in 17 games. He should continue to play a key rotational role in the upcoming home wild-card matchup against the Eagles on Monday night.
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Buccaneers' YaYa Diaby: Picks up 1.5 sacks Week 16
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Diaby recorded five tackles (four solo), including 1.5 sacks, along with a forced and recovered fumble in Sunday's 30-12 victory versus the Jaguars.
Tampa Bay took a 20-0 lead into halftime, and Diaby helped ensure that the Jaguars didn't gain momentum on their opening drive of the third quarter, contributing on a split sack of Trevor Lawrence and forcing a fumble that he recovered himself on the play. The rookie linebacker is up to 6.5 sacks on the campaign, which is tied with the Rams' Kobie Turner for the top spot among first-year players. All of Diaby's sacks have come since Week 8.
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Buccaneers' YaYa Diaby: Making waves in camp
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Diaby, a rookie third-round pick, has shown an impressive blend of speed and power thus far in training camp, Scott Smith of the team's official site reports.
Diaby enters Friday night's preseason opener against the Steelers looking to make a case for the fourth outside linebacker job, and the Louisville product has already laid a solid foundation with his work over the first two weeks of camp. Head coach Todd Bowles has preemptively identified the linebacker position as a whole as the one likely to lead to the toughest cutdown decisions for him and his staff in a few weeks. Diaby, who racked up 14 tackles for loss, including nine sacks, as a senior in 2022, boasts the pass-rushing profile that's integral to the outside linebacker position in Bowles' scheme.
