Buccaneers Notebook: Tampa Bay must scramble to replace injured DE Adrian Clayborn

Despite a poor performance in Sunday's loss at Dallas, QB Josh Freeman received a vote of confidence from coach Greg Schiano. (AP)

It was apparent Tampa Bay's players and coaches feared the worst when DE Adrian Clayborn went down with a knee injury in Sunday's loss at Dallas. Those fears were confirmed by Monday.

Clayborn's season is over, as he was placed on injured reserve and will undergo surgery on his right knee for what coach Greg Schiano called "one of those three-letter deals" -- indicating a significant ligament injury.

The team's 2011 leader in sacks with 7.5, Clayborn has been one of the Buccaneers' most consistent pass-rushers. How the team plans to replace his production is a question even Schiano couldn't answer on Monday, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times.

"We'll look at everything," Schiano said. "We'll look internally. We'll look outside if anything is better. We'll look at schematically. Maybe we'll have to play some more three-down fronts and do some different things to stretch the personnel a little bit. Nothing is out of the realm. Look, that's what you do. You adapt, and that's what we'll do."

Help is still a few weeks away, as DE Da'Quan Bowers, who tore his Achilles tendon this offseason is eligible to return to the roster from the physically unable to perform list after Week 6. Until then, the question of how the Bucs will continue to generate a pass rush from the defensive end spot is certainly one of the biggest facing the team at this point.

QB Freeman gets vote of confidence from Schiano: Tampa Bay QB Josh Freeman had a forgettable performance in Sunday's 16-10 loss to the Cowboys, completing only 10 passes and finishing with a 35.7 completion percentage. Both of those numbers were career lows. As Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times notes, until the team's final drive, Freeman was a mere 6 of 20 passing for 39 yards. He was picked off once and fumbled on another occasion.

Still, Schiano indicated he has faith in Freeman to find success as the team's quarterback, according to Stroud.

"I have a great trust level with him," Schiano said of the fourth-year pro. "There's not a doubt in my mind he's going to do great this year and beyond. The only thing right now is, like I said, two pretty good outings and then one not so good. Why? There are so many reasons: coaching, playing, IDs, techniques. We've got to clean it up."

Thus far, the team's attempts to stretch the field vertically have been limited despite the offseason acquisition of WR Vincent Jackson, a deep threat the Bucs lacked in recent seasons. Freeman targeted Jackson with seven of his 28 passes, but only one of those throws resulted in a completion.

The performance came on the heels of a promising showing in the team's Week 2 loss to the Giants, when Freeman threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns (albeit with two interceptions). The two scores were on passes of 29 yards (to Jackson) and 41 yards (to Mike Williams).

"Do I think that Josh is capable of doing more things down the field? I do," Schiano said. "They did a good job of taking some of the down-the-field stuff away. The stuff that we hit against the Giants the week before, we didn't quite do it as well this week. You know, we threw some, but we didn't win the battle."

Shipley blunders in debut as punt returner: With WR Sammie Stroughter on the injured reserve with a right foot injury, the Bucs needed someone who could help in the punt return role Stroughter had previously filled. They signed WR Jordan Shipley in part because of his ability to contribute in that area.

But Shipley made one of the game's critical errors, muffing a punt in the second quarter that Dallas recovered. The Cowboys then kicked the go-ahead field goal, which proved pivotal in the later stages when the Buccaneers were down 16-7 -- a two-possession advantage that proved too much to overcome.

"I just didn't follow it all the way in," Shipley said Monday, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. "It's something I've ever really had a problem with, so I feel terrible about it. There's nothing I can really do about it but learn from it and move on. … I'll do whatever I can to help the team win. Obviously I don't feel like I did that this week. But I feel like it's something I can do."

Shipley did have a nine-yard return to his credit. He was signed by the Bucs off waivers during training camp, but was one of the last to be cut by the team to trim the roster down to 53.