Team news: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are signing WR Breshad Perriman to their active roster. Antonio Brown was suspended the next three games, opening a roster spot.

It is unknown if Perriman will contribute with Scott Miller and Tyler Johnson active, but Perriman at least has ties to the Bucs and could step in on short notice.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown has been suspended for three games without pay due to misrepresenting his vaccination status.

There were reports that Antonio Brown was exposed (by his former chef) for acquiring a fake vaccination card, but those rumors were thought to be debunked by his agent. This suspension suggests otherwise. Whatever the case, AB did misrepresent his vaccination status under the NFL-NFLPA COVID-19 protocol. The league also suspended safety Mike Edwards, also of the Buccaneers. Both players have waived their right to appeal and will miss the next three games without pay. Brown is still dealing with the ankle injury that has sidelined him much longer than expected and was already slated to be out for the next 1-2 weeks. This latest off-field issue spells trouble for AB's future in the league.

Buccaneers WR Antonio Brown is expected to miss at least two more games with his ankle injury.

Bruce Arians made it clear that the injury was more long-term than thought, and Schefter's report at least gives a timetable.

Buccaneers HC Bruce Arians told reporters Friday that WR Antonio Brown (ankle) is the only Bucs player ruled out for Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts.

Related Players: Tyler Johnson, Scott Miller

We will reconvene next week with the hopes that the receiver room in Tampa Bay is back to full health.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans missed Thursday's practice with a back injury.

Evans has missed the first two practices of the week with the back injury, though it should be noted that Wednesday's practice was merely a walkthrough. Evans could still play with no practice due to Bruce Arians being extremely comfortable trusting his veterans and medical staff opinions on game day, but fantasy managers would prefer to see him log at least a limited session on Friday. With Antonio Brown slated to be out at least one more week, the Buccaneers could be down to Chris Godwin, Tyler Johnson, and Scott Miller as their top three receivers for Week 12. This is a situation for fantasy managers to monitor but is one that will likely come down to a game-time decision. Mike Evans is currently our seventh-ranked wide receiver for Week 12.

Saquon Barkley might finally be past his latest injury. He's reportedly expected to suit up on Monday night though, per Jordan Raanan of ESPN, when the Giants visit Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to close out the Week 11 slate of games.

The 24-year-old suffered a severe ankle sprain in Week 5 after taking only two handoffs against the Dallas Cowboys, on a play that saw him roll his ankle on the leg of cornerback Jourdan Lewis. He was immediately helped off of the field before seeing his ankle balloon massively with swelling and being ruled out shortly thereafter, having not taken the field for the Giants since, the story said. The Giants are hoping Barkley is finally healthy for the final stretch of the 2021 season.

Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown was accused of obtaining a fake COVID-19 vaccination card by a former personal chef, according to a report from the Tampa Bay Times. Chef Steven Ruiz decided to stop working for Brown after the two couldn't agree on a debt of $10,000 that Ruiz claims Brown owed him.

Text messages from the report supposedly show Brown's girlfriend, Cydney Moreau, asking Ruiz whether he could obtain a fake COVID-19 vaccination card for Brown. Ruiz said he was unable to do so but alleges that he later learned Brown had obtained a fake vaccine card elsewhere just days before training camp. He claims to have seen it himself.

Brown denies this and said he'd be willing to get a booster shot on live TV if that's what it would take. The Bucs said there were no irregularities when it came to viewing vaccination cards for their players.

Bucs wouldn't really say either way until inactives tonight around 6:55. All expectations after Saturday were Rob Gronkowski and team optimistic about him playing and making a healthy return tonight.

Related players: Cameron Brate, O.J. Howard

Gronk is looking to make another return this season when a bad back took him out again a few weeks ago after a rib injury. At this point of the season, don't expect the Bucs to rush him if he's not completely ready to go, and despite a couple of unexpected losses in a row. If Gronk can't go, Brate and Howard could eat up those targets but they haven't been fantasy trust-worthy as of late. We'll know when the inactives come out later before kickoff.

After missing practice all week this doesn't come as too much of a surprise. Brown is currently in question regarding his vaccination status creating a situation to monitor.

Tampa Bay welcomes the return of Rob Gronkowski to fill the void created by Brown. Tyler Johnson will see additional snaps in the slot as well.