Team news: Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Page 8

Sources: Buccaneers plan to activate WR Chris Godwin off the Physically Unable to Perform list and have him on their 53-man roster to start the season, but only to begin his ramp-up process for games, not to immediately play in them. Godwin still is unlikely to play until October as he continues recovering from the fractured ankle he suffered in Week 7 vs. the Ravens last season. He is expected to start practicing in Week 2, but the team thinks he is right where he should be at this time and is pleased with his recovery.

Related Players: Mike Evans, Emeka Egbuka, Jalen McMillan

Great news for Godwin's 2025 outlook but it doesn't sound like we'll be in a position to start up at the beginning of the season as he ramps up. Evans and Egbuka, in general, will be great early-season targets, and Cade Otton should be on streaming radar for drafters who missed out on the TE position.

Jalen McMillan will be placed on injured reserve after suffering a “severely sprained neck,” against the Steelers and could be out past the Bucs Week 9 bye week, the Times has learned.

Related players: Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Emeka Egbuka, Sterling Shepard, Trey Palmer

This is a bit of an update from our previous item about McMillan. The post went on to say the team still feels fortunate the injury wasn’t worse and that they have depth at WR starting with Evans and Egbuka. Godwin will eventually return from a dislocated ankle, the story pointed out. Egbuka is likely pressed into a high-impact role from the start for the Bucs. Shepard and Palmer are a couple of other names to keep an eye on in this offense, especially if Godwin isn't able to start the start the season on the active roster.

The Buccaneers have not activated Chris Godwin from the physically unable to perform list yet and head coach Todd Bowles announced on Tuesday that they will definitely be missing another wideout for the start of the regular season.

Bowles said at a press conference that Jalen McMillan has a severe neck strain and that he will not be ready to play for the team’s Week 1 game against the Falcons.

Related players: Mike Evans, Emeka Egbuka

Bowles did not say how much more time McMillan will miss. If he goes on injured reserve, he will have to miss four games before being eligible to return of, course. As the story pointed out, with McMillan out and Godwin questionable at best, the Bucs will likely be giving first-round pick Egbuka a sizable role alongside Evans at wideout to kick off the year. Egbuka has looked good with all the chances he's getting in camp, according to reports, and may be able to secure a more permanent role in the offense at this rate.

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said Sunday that the team is still running tests on WR Jalen McMillan, who is listed with a back injury and was evaluated for a possible concussion.

McMillan was hurt following a leaping catch in the second quarter of Saturday’s preseason game against the Steelers. He was able to walk off the field under his own power. He was wearing a neck brace after the game. The Bucs already have Chris Godwin likely starting the season on the physically unable to perform list. McMillan was set to be a good piece to the Buccaneers’ offense this season and has been having a nice camp. McMillan is going late, if not undrafted in fantasy drafts to this point.

The Bucs will be without Chris Godwin to start the season. I would be shocked if he doesn’t start the year on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list. Therefore, that opens up a roster spot at wide receiver. We know Mike Evans, Emeka Egbuka, and Jalen McMillan will be the top three receivers to start the season, but Tampa Bay will need two to three more receivers to start the season.

If Godwin does end up on PUP, that means he's out for at least the four games of the season, which would clearly impact his season-long fantasy propositions. Things are really lining up for Egbuka to find a role in the passing game from the jump (whether that's on the inside or the perimeter), and this would boost Evans' target share as well.

Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is officially a member of the Buccaneers.

Bridgewater visited with the team on Tuesday and took a physical that went well enough for the Bucs to announce his signing. Punter Jake Julien was waived to make space for Bridgewater on the roster.

Related players: Baker Mayfield, Kyle Trask, Michael Pratt

Pratt is currently injured, according to the story, so Bridgewater will likely challenge Trask for the QB2 job behind Mayfield. The story mentions Bridgewater has a history with offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard. Both of them were with the Dolphins during the 2022 season, so Bridgewater may have an edge.

Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin is still rehabbing from the ankle injury he suffered in Week Seven of 2024, and it’s too soon to say whether he’ll be ready for Week One of 2025.

Tampa Bay G.M. Jason Licht was asked today if Godwin will be on the active roster when the season starts and answered, “That, we don’t know yet.”

Licht did indicate that the team is satisfied with the progress Godwin has made in recovering from the injury.

Licht said Godwin is, “doing very well. He’s advancing through his protocols, he’s exactly where they anticipated and hoped he would be at this point. We’ve still got a ways to go.” As the story added, the Bucs are confident enough that Godwin will recover fully that they signed him this offseason to a three-year, $66 million contract that has no language that protects the team in the event that Godwin’s ankle prevents him from playing.

[The Buccaneers] love [Bucky Irving], and while they also like Rachaad White and have a role planned for him, Irving is viewed by people in the building as special enough to warrant a high-volume RB1 role. That includes pass-catching work.

The blurb quoted QB Baker Mayfield talking about how Irving's vision makes him special. Mayfield added, "He's just tough to bring down. He's strong, he's got great vision, he understands it, and then also you add in the ability to catch too. He's well-rounded." Irving is our RB8 with an ADP of the late second or early third round.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield won’t practice today after suffering a contusion on his throwing hand Thursday, per source.

Mayfield underwent scans as a precaution and ruled out a more significant injury. He’s day to day.

Related Players: Kyle Trask

We don't want to see Mayfield miss anytime, but it's great news that it's not more significant. We don't expect this to linger into the regular season at this point, so we should continue to consider him a top-10 option at the position.

Bucs TE Cade Otton still not practicing tonight, same with WR Kam Johnson, S Marcus Banks. WR Trey Palmer and RB Josh Williams sidelined as well.

Related Players: Payne Durham, Ko Kieft

Auman cleared that it was a hamstring issue in a follow-up tweet. Durham is a fifth-round rookie, while Kieft has eight career receptions, so if Otton ends up missing any time, we'd expect his handful of targets to disperse to the WR room.