So earlier this week Bucs stud cornerback Carlton Davis woke up with a bum knee.

(If you wonder why the Bucs played so much zone defense, re-read the first sentence.)

Davis’ bum knee kept him out of practice Thursday and he is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game with the Stinking Panthers. He did have limited participation in practice Friday.

Today, Bucco Bruce Arians seemed to think Davis is a game-time decision though Arians remained optimistic.

“He looked pretty good [today] – I think he’s going to be able to go,” Arians said. “If [the knee] gets sore – you never know with a plane ride sometimes – [and] if it were a game-time decision, [Ross] Cockrell and [Ryan] Smith [would be options],” Arians said.

“We’ve got some other guys possible – we can leave Sean [Murphy-Bunting] outside and move Antoine [Winfield Jr. to nickel]. We’ve got a bunch of moving pieces back there, so we’d be OK.”

Ryan Smith, an ace special teams guy, is not someone the Bucs want on the field full-time if Davis can’t go.

Ali Marpet also is listed as questionable after limited participation today. Also “questionable” is the immortal Jaydon Mickens.

As expected, Christian McCaffrey is out for Carolina.