The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been absolutely riddled with injuries at the wide receiver position this season.
Mike Evans missed three games with a hamstring injury and after finally returning to the field in Week 7, he suffered a broken collarbone that will keep him out until near the end of the regular season.
Chris Godwin managed to make his way back from a dislocated ankle after missing the first three contests, but he’s now dealing with a fibula injury that has kept him out for the last three games (he has been ruled out for Week 8).
And, lest we forget, Jalen McMillan is still on injured reserve after suffering a neck injury in the preseason that has kept him out ever since.
While all this has been going on, rookie Emeka Egbuka has proven to be a godsend and has stepped up big time for Tampa Bay’s offense.
With all those issues, many are wondering if the Buccaneers might make a trade for a wide receiver at the deadline. However, based on a rumor from CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, don’t expect one.
Jones writes that the Bucs “likely won’t be competing” with other wide receiver-needy teams at the Nov. 4 trade deadline and instead will probably stand pat and simply hope their injured wideouts get healthy.
“One team that likely won’t be competing with the Broncos or Steelers for a wideout is Tampa Bay,” he reported. “The Buccaneers lost Mike Evans for most of the remaining season on Monday night, and he’s in the final year of his contract too.
“But the Bucs are getting Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan back from injury this season,” Jones added. “Bucs GM Jason Licht isn’t usually a big swinger at the trade deadline, and he and his group have had excellent drafts in recent years.”
It’s true that the Bucs will be just fine if they can get Godwin and McMillan back, as a trio of those two and Egbuka is no doubt sufficient.
Unfortunately, the statuses of McMillan and Godwin remain up in the air.
The Bucs haven’t given a timeline for McMillan’s return and Godwin has had too many injury issues in recent years to be confident in his ability to stay healthy for the rest of the season.
“He’s getting better,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said of McMillan. “I don’t have a specific date for you either, but he’s definitely getting better. When he gets out of the [neck] brace we’ll see, but he’s definitely feeling better.”
We saw just how hard things were on Baker Mayfield in Week 7 without Evans and Godwin in the lineup, which allows opposing defenses to hone in on Egbuka and puts pressure on guys like Cade Otton, Tez Johnson and Sterling Shepard to step up. That’s not something Tampa Bay can depend on for long.
Tampa Bay has about a week and a half before the trade deadline hits, so there’s still more time to gauge things. But if there’s any semblance of a doubt about Godwin or McMillan, Jason Licht shouldn’t stand pat.
