Tampa Bay Buccaneers MRSA Outbreak: Third Unnamed Player Infected While Carl Nicks Diagnosed With A Recurrence, Lawrence Tynes Files Grievance With Bucs

Tampa Bay Buccaneers MRSA outbreak continues to get worse as now a third player has been named to have the infection.

Kicker Lawrence Tynes and guard Carl Nicks previously were diagnosed with MRSA, which is resistant to some antibiotics. Nicks came back and played in two games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before he was diagnosed with a recurrence Thursday as this outbreak continues.

The MRSA outbreak continued with yet another player given the infection. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers organization declined to reveal the name of the player.

"Our office, the NFLPA, and appropriate medical specialists are working with the Buccaneers' medical staff to aggressively address the matter," the league said in a statement from spokesman Greg Aiello.

MRSA stands for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. It is a bacterium responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans and is potentially deadly.

MRSA is any strain of Staphylococcus aureus that has developed, through the process of natural selection, resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics, which include the penicillins (methicillin, dicloxacillin, nafcillin, oxacillin, etc.) and the cephalosporins.

Strains unable to resist these antibiotics are classified as methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, or MSSA. The evolution of such resistance does not cause the organism to be more intrinsically virulent than strains of Staphylococcus aureus that have no antibiotic resistance, but resistance does make MRSA infection more difficult to treat with standard types of antibiotics and thus more dangerous.

Open wounds, invasive devices, and weakened immune systems are at greater risk of infection than the general public.

Tynes, now a free agent, hasn't played a single snap this season and former Super Bowl champion has sued the Buccaneers. Tynes' grievance states that the Bucs breached NFL protocol by placing Tynes on the Non Football Injury list after he became infected with MRSA, according to the CBS report.

Tynes' agent, Ken Harris, told La Canfora that Tynes is still receiving paychecks but can't receive 401k match funds or annuity benefits. He's also "blocked from accruing a season of service towards his pension, both which have significant financial ramifications," according to the report. The NFL Players Union wants Tynes placed on the Injured Reserve list so his benefits can accrue.