Tampa Bay Buccaneers Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin (fibula) is out for Sunday's game vs. the Patriots. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler said on Thursday that Godwin could be out until "late-November or December." Emeka Egbuka, Tez Johnson, and Sterling Shepard will again operate as Tampa Bay's top three WRs this weekend.

Buccaneers RB Bucky Irving (foot, shoulder) is out for Sunday's game vs. the Patriots. It sounds like the shoulder is the bigger issue than the foot at this point. Irving has resumed running but has not been cleared for contact, according to HC Todd Bowles. Consider Irving uncertain for Week 11. His absence again leaves the backfield to Rachaad White and Sean Tucker. We saw Tucker pull nearly even with White in carries in Tampa Bay's last game (13 to 12). But that came in an easy win over the Saints. Sunday's game vs. the Patriots should be tighter. And New England is much tougher against the run than the pass, which sets up better for White. See where both guys land in the Week 10 RB rankings.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler hears that the Buccaneers are "thinking late-November or December" for WR Chris Godwin's return from his fibula injury. Tampa gets the Rams in Week 12 on November 23, the Cardinals in Week 13 on November 30, and the Saints in Week 14 on December 7. It sounds like Godwin is targeting a return sometime during that stretch. It'll be at least a week beyond his return before we could trust him in fantasy lineups. And we're skeptical that Godwin will be back to 100% at any point this season. He's not a must-hold in shallower fantasy leagues. WR Tez Johnson and TE Cade Otton will continue to play expanded roles in the short term. WR Mike Evans (collarbone) isn't likely to be back until Week 14 at the earliest.

Buccaneers RB Bucky Irving (foot, shoulder) did not practice on Wednesday. HC Todd Bowles said that Irving has been running but has not been cleared for contact. That seemingly makes him unlikely to play vs. the Patriots this weekend. When we last saw Tampa Bay in Week 8, the gap between RBs Rachaad White and Sean Tucker got much tighter. White played 57% of the offensive snaps and handled 13 carries and two targets; Tucker registered a 34% snap rate with 12 carries and 0 targets. White remains the better fantasy bet if Irving is out, especially this week against a New England defense that's much tougher against the run than the pass. But he looks more like a mid-range RB2 than the RB1 we were treating him as prior to Week 8.

Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin (fibula) did not practice on Wednesday. That's not a good sign for his availability for this weekend's game vs. the Patriots. Godwin's absence would again leave rookie Tez Johnson as Tampa Bay's No. 2 WR.

Buccaneers RB Sean Tucker earned a larger role for the Buccaneers going 12-42-1 on the ground with no targets. RB Rachaad White was still the lead back, but only mustered 13-35-0, though he did catch both his targets for 26 yards. White was struggling early leading to Tucker getting some snaps and showcasing his ability. If RB Bucky Irving misses more time, Tucker and White could split carries.

Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin (fibula) won't play vs. the Saints this weekend, HC Todd Bowles said Wednesday. We'll see if Godwin can make it back after Tampa Bay's Week 9 bye. With WR Mike Evans (collarbone) also out, rookie Tez Johnson figures to operate as the No. 2 WR vs. New Orleans. Sterling Shepard will remain in his slot role. See where those guys sit in the Week 8 WR rankings.

Buccaneers RB Bucky Irving (foot, shoulder) won't play vs. the Saints this weekend, HC Todd Bowles said Wednesday, adding that Irving is still "week to week." Tampa Bay gets a Week 9 bye, and we'll see if Irving is ready come Week 10. His absence means another game for Rachaad White as clear lead back. He's played 84% of the offensive snaps over the last three weeks, averaging 13.7 carries and 4.3 targets per game. White dudded vs. the Lions last week but registered RB7 and RB10 PPR finishes the prior two. White sits inside the top 10 in the Week 8 RB Rankings.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka returned from a Week 6 hamstring injury and played 53 of Tampa's 68 snaps in their Monday Night loss to the Lions. Egbuka led the team with 12 targets and ranked second with 58 receiving yards. Most importantly, Egbuka emerged from the game healthy and will be counted on to be Tampa's No. 1 WR after Mike Evans broke his collarbone. Evans is slated to miss significant time.

Buccaneers WR Mike Evans broke his collarbone in Monday night's loss to the Lions, HC Todd Bowles said afterward. Bowles said Evans will miss most of the rest of the regular season. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport notes that the typical timeline for a broken collarbone would have Evans out until early-to-mid December. That's somewhere in the Week 14-16 range. That makes Evans stashable in fantasy leagues with IR spots or very deep benches. But he's droppable in the majority of fantasy leagues.

Buccaneers WR Mike Evans suffered a concussion and shoulder injury in the second quarter of Monday night's game vs. the Lions and will not return. The concussion will likely cost him Week 8. Tampa Bay has a Week 9 bye, but we'll have to see about the shoulder injury. Evans had just returned from a three-week absence due to a hamstring injury and finished this game catch-less on four targets.

Buccaneers WR Mike Evans (hamstring) is active for tonight's game vs. the Lions. He comes with more risk than usual in his first action since Week 3. But there's also plenty of upside here in a potential shootout against an injury-riddled Detroit secondary.

Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka (hamstring) will play vs. the Lions tonight, according to multiple reports. Egbuka suffered a hamstring injury just eight days ago, but he returned to a limited practice on Saturday and got the green light after going through a workout tonight. There's still elevated risk here that Egbuka is on a snap count and/or suffers a setback. That has him much lower than usual in the Week 7 WR rankings. But Egbuka is available if you were waiting on him.

Fox Sports' Jay Glazer reports that the Buccaneers are "leaning on" WR Emeka Egbuka (hamstring) playing vs. the Lions on Monday night. The rookie will work out on Monday before a final decision is made, Glazer adds. The rookie is clearly trending in the right direction, though, getting in a limited practice on Saturday. He'll carry elevated risk in fantasy lineups if he does suit up tomorrow. And if you're hoping to use him, you should have another WR from the Monday night doubleheader rostered as insurance.

Buccaneers WR Mike Evans (hamstring) is listed as questionable for Monday night's game vs. the Lions. He got in a limited practice on Thursday and a full practice on Saturday, sandwiching a planned day off on Friday. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Evans is a "pre-game decision" but is "likely to play." Fox Sports' Greg Auman also reports that Evans is expected to play. Despite the late kickoff, we'd feel comfortable having Evans in fantasy lineups. But it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a Buccaneers WR -- Sterling Shepard, Tez Johnson, or Kameron Johnson, in that order of preference -- rostered as insurance.

Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka (hamstring) is listed as questionable for Monday night's game vs. the Lions. He returned to a limited practice on Saturday after sitting out the previous two days. ESPN's Adam Schefter hears that Egbuka is a "pre-game decision" but that he "has a real chance to play." Egbuka is dealing with a "low-grade hamstring strain," Schefter adds. We'll look for more info on the situation, but the late kickoff puts Egbuka's fantasy owners in a tough spot. We'd still try to have him on your bench for now. If you're hoping to play him, you should have another Buccaneers WR -- Sterling Shepard, Tez Johnson, or Kameron Johnson, in that order of preference -- rostered as insurance.

Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin (fibula) is out for Monday night's game vs. the Lions. He didn't practice all week and seems unlikely to make it back for Week 8's game against the Saints. We'll see if Godwin is ready after Tampa Bay's Week 9 bye.

Buccaneers RB Bucky Irving (foot, shoulder) has been ruled out for Monday night's game vs. the Lions, as expected. HC Todd Bowles essentially ruled Irving out back on Monday, so we're not optimistic about his chances of making it back for Week 8's game against the Saints. The Bucs then get a Week 9 bye. Rachaad White gets another game as lead back on Monday night. He's averaged 15.5 carries and 3.5 targets over the last two games, turning in RB7 and RB10 PPR finishes.

Buccaneers WR Mike Evans (hamstring) got in a limited practice on Thursday. We're tentatively expecting him back for Monday night's game against the Lions, but his status bears monitoring over the next couple of days. Hopefully we know Evans' status for this one before inactives are released 90 minutes before kickoff. WRs Emeka Egbuka (hamstring) and Chris Godwin (fibula) did not practice on Thursday and are not expected to play vs. Detroit.

Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield completed 17 of 23 passes for 256 yards and 2 scores in Sunday's win over San Francisco. Mayfield added 14 rushing yards for a decent fantasy day, despite several adverse developments.