Although a right hamstring injury sustained by Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Martin Gramatica last Sunday is not as serious as originally feared, the team will take no chances, and plans to work out possible alternatives to the three-year veteran this week.

The Bucs, who currently hold the sixth and final NFC playoff berth, face the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday evening at Raymond James Stadium. In what figures to be a closely-contested game, Bucs officials will not risk the possible outcome boiling down to a field goal attempt by a gimpy-legged kicker.

"(Gramatica) is going to have to show us that he can go," said coach Tony Dungy. "It's not as bad as we thought it might be, but he'll rest it most of the week, and we'll just evaluate it as we get closer to Saturday night."

Among the kickers who will work out for Tampa Bay officials this week is former San Francisco and New Orleans kicker Doug Brien, who was released this spring by the Saints despite a solid performance in 2000.

An eight-year veteran, Brien was signed by the Indianapolis Colts earlier this month when Mike Vanderjagt was injured, but was released after one game. The former University of California star connected on 23 of 29 field goal attempts for the Saints last season but New Orleans elected to go with younger kickers in training camp. When that experiment failed, the Saints were forced to sign veteran John Carney.

For his career, Brien has made 145 of 181 field goal tries and all but one of his 225 extra point attempts, and his field goal success rate of 80.1 percent is the seventh best in league history. He began his NFL tenure with the San Francisco 49ers in 1994 as a third-round draft choice, was released in October of 1995, and signed with New Orleans two weeks later.

The team is expected to bring in other veteran kickers as well, although the list of possibilities is hardly a crowded one. Special teams coach Joe Marciano has already ruled out former Tennessee kicker Al Del Greco. Steve Christie, mentioned in some reports as a possibility, is on the roster of the San Diego Chargers, having signed with them last month.

The best scenario is that Gramatica will be able to kick on Saturday, but he probably won't even get on a practice field until Thursday morning to test the hamstring. Because the game with the Ravens is on Saturday, the Bucs must make a roster move by Friday at 4 p.m. if they intend to sign a kicker.

Gramatica has noted in the past few weeks that he has a tired leg. He had converted 23 of his 29 field goal attempts, leads the Bucs in scoring with 93 points and had a league-best 10 touchbacks on kickoffs. The injury occurred on an extra point in the fourth quarter and strong safety John Lynch handled the kickoff chores after that. Tampa Bay was forced to try a two-point conversion, and succeeded, following its final touchdown in the victory over the Saints.

Ironically, Gramatica's younger brother, Bill, was injured a week ago. The Arizona Cardinals rookie tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while jumping to celebrate a 42-yard field goal against the New York Giants.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.