The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have already dealt with injury issues throughout the start of their 1-5 season. As they enter Week 7 with a chance to make up ground on the division-leading Panthers, they might be without their top wide receiver, Emeka Egbuka.
Egbuka missed practice on Wednesday due to a concussion and foot injury. On Thursday, he spent the day working off to the side with the same two issues.
— Emeka Egbuka (concussion/foot) working on the side with a trainer
— No Luke Goedeke (calf) or Christian Rozeboom (finger).
— Zyon McCollum, Bucky Irving, Calijah Kancey (illness) all practicing today.
— Antoine Winfield
Both are concerning for different reasons. Egbuka will have to clear concussion protocol to play on Sunday. So far, he has not. Then, the foot injury could be related to a toe issue that he had back in the summer.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Might Be Without Emeka Egbuka
Egbuka missed the majority of offseason activities with turf toe. However, he participated in full during practice prior to Week 1 and was not on the injury report by Week 2. However, this has not been a good year for Egbuka.
Some of it can be attributed to quarterback play. At the same time, he is not nearly as efficient. Egbuka put up 938 yards and averaged 1.75 yards per route run. This year, he is on pace for 680 yards. He is averaging 1.11 yards per route run.
The Buccaneers are expected to get starting quarterback Baker Mayfield back this week. On top of that, Egbuka had his two best games from a target-and-reception standpoint in Weeks 5 and 6. So, the arrow is pointing up on his potential to produce. The potential injury is going to put things on hold, though.
Bucs Have Multiple Injury Updates Prior to Week 7
The Bucs have multiple starters whose status is up in the air. Mayfield is expected to start, but the team is still deciding on how his thumb responds to throwing the ball. They will have a decision to make by Friday.
Antoine Winfield was expected to miss two to four weeks. Now that the team is two weeks removed from the injury, he has returned to practice. However, he is working with a no-contact jersey.
Starting right tackle Luke Goedeke is missing time with a calf injury. Christian Rozeboom is missing time with a finger injury. Their statuses will be monitored throughout the week.
While the team was without Zyon McCollum, Bucky Irving, and Calijah Kancey yesterday due to an illness, all three returned after missing just one day.
The three biggest statuses to note will be Mayfield, Egbuka, and Goedeke. They would be without their starting quarterback, their top receiver, and their right tackle.
Buccaneers Get Concerning Emeka Egbuka Injury News