The Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense has really gotten crushed. Wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, who is a key part of the offense, is dealing with a hamstring injury he sustained against the San Francisco 49ers last week. Egbuka, the team’s 19th overall draft pick, was immediately ruled out after his injury. That leaves quarterback Baker Mayfield in a difficult position as he continues to steer a depleted receiving corps.
Entering Sunday’s matchup, Egbuka was third in the league with 445 receiving yards. Additionally, he added five scores to the Buccaneers’ campaign, tying him for the second-most scoring plays among receivers this year. His absence will certainly be felt as the Buccaneers try to keep up the new-found offensive firepower going forward.
Beyond just Egbuka’s injury, the Buccaneers are still trying to deal with the storm of other injuries to their players. And wide receiver Chris Godwin is trying to get back from a fibula injury. This injury came only two games after he returned from ankle surgery. His return has been listed as “week-to-week,” creating even more volatility in the Buccaneers’ passing game.
His loss comes just days after other injury concerns have started to plague the team. Running back Bucky Irving is out for the second consecutive game due to a foot sprain and shoulder subluxation. In other injury news, receiver Jalen McMillan is on injured reserve with a neck sprain. Though he hasn’t returned to practice just yet, optimism swirls regarding Mike Evans’ recovery. At first, he was projected to miss three to four weeks.
Mayfield voiced no doubt that he could trust his surviving teammates—to keep faith in them at tough moments.
“I truly genuinely trust the guys that are in there,” – Baker Mayfield
Head Coach Todd Bowles said the game showed how tough a shameful team could be when dealing with adversity.
“Every time something happens [that is] negative, he makes it a positive and he does something to give everybody hope and that run was one of them.” – Todd Bowles
The Buccaneers need to play a different game. They go into this month’s future matchups without their most significant offensive contributors. With Mayfield at the helm, we’ll be watching closely to see what kind of leader he becomes. Can he lead the squad smoothly past these obstacles?
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