TAMPA, Fla. -- Tampa Bay safety Cody Grimm has an injured right knee and will miss the rest of the season.
Coach Raheem Morris said Monday that the team was awaiting results of tests, but the Bucs placed the second-year pro on season-ending injured reserve Tuesday.
Grimm likely will be replaced in the lineup by backup Corey Lynch.
Although Morris said Lynch will compete in practice with Larry Asante to be Grimm's replacement, the sixth-year pro played most of the second half of Sunday's 16-13 victory over Atlanta and started five games in Grimm's absence last season.
Grimm was hurt while he and linebacker Geno Hayes were stopping Atlanta's Michael Turner for a 1-yard gain with help from other defenders who converged on the pile. Hayes suffered a concussion on the play and will undergo an NFL-mandated battery of tests to help determine his status for next Monday night's game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Grimm, the son of Hall of Famer and Arizona Cardinals assistant head coach Russ Grimm, was a seventh-round draft pick in 2010. He became a starter early in his rookie year, when Tanard Jackson was suspended a minimum of a year for violating the NFL substance abuse policy.
"We don't know the extent" of the damage to Grimm's knee, Morris said Monday, answering a question about whether the safety is out for the season. "We have to get the MRI. I know his MCL was messed up, and he's got some other stuff that we're checking on right know. So, it may not be for the year. We're not sure of that yet."
Grimm started 11 games as a rookie before suffering a season-ending leg injury against Baltimore. He was not available for comment on Monday but said after the game that he wasn't sure how he was hurt.
"It just took a shot to the knee. I was kind of on Turner's back. I don't know exactly who hit me, but I felt it hit pretty hard," Grimm said Sunday.
"It stinks. Wrong place at the wrong time," he added. "We'll see. Hopefully it's nothing too big and I'll be able to come back by the end of the year."
Lynch moved into a starting role after Grimm's season-ending leg injury in late November. The fourth-year pro has one interception in three seasons with the Bucs.
"We feel great about the way he finished the game for us (Sunday)," Morris said. "But we also have Larry Asante. ... You know me, I'll play either one of them or both."
Lynch wished Grimm a speedy recovery, while also saying he's excited about the opportunity to step up.
"That's kind of been what I've done last season and this season," he said, adding that reverting to a role as a backup this season had not shaken his confidence. "I'm ready to go."
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.