Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka had missed the past couple of weeks due to a toe injury. Head coach Todd Bowles was vague when it came to the timeline to return and the severity of the injury, which made it easy to assume the worst.
However, things appear to be turning out positively, as Egbuka has returned to the field, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.
“Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka was working on a side field with trainers,” tweeted Stroud. “He ran without any obvious problems from the injured toe.”
Stroud also shared video of Egbuka hopping on his toe to test it.
So far, it looks like he will have a strong chance to play Week 1.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka Returns to Practice Field
Egbuka suffered his toe injury on August 12. Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported that the injury would be considered minor. A few days later, head coach Todd Bowles said that he was not sure if Egbuka would be healthy enough to play Week 1.
He deemed Egbuka to be a variety of day to day or week to week.
That was a little more than two weeks ago. Now, with a little more than one week to go until the start of the regular season, it looks like Egbuka is starting to ramp things up with eyes on practicing.
If Egbuka can return to being a full participant in practice by Monday of next week, he will be a sure thing to play in Week 1. By already returning, the odds are that he should be set.
Egbuka Eyes Massive Year Two With Buccaneers
Egbuka had one of the hottest starts to a season as a rookie. However, he suffered a hamstring injury about halfway through the year and was not the same since. In the first nine games of the season, Egbuka had 4.4 catches for 75 yards per game. He had 677 total yards, and over a 17-game sample would have accumulated 1,279 yards.
However, after his injury, he averaged 2.9 receptions for 32.6 yards per game. In total, he had 261 yards, and his 17-game average was 555 yards. He was going to produce less than half of his initial production.
The thought is that Egbuka can continue on that hot trajectory in his second year. Not only is he getting healthy, but so is his quarterback, Baker Mayfield. Mayfield limped to the finish line as well, and the team went 2-6 due to injuries beyond Egbuka.
The offensive line is much healthier entering the season, and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson comes from the Sean McVay tree, which has helped with Mayfield in the past.
More than that, Robinson is already comparing Egbuka to Cooper Kupp. Kupp exploded when Robinson was with the Los Angeles Rams and wants to use Egbuka in the same manner.
Now that Egbuka is looking healthy for Week 1, the question is how high his ceiling will be.
Buccaneers Get Encouraging Emeka Egbuka Injury Update