The Tampa Bay Buccaneers first injury report of the week featured five players logging DNP designations (did not practice), which included both Chris Godwin (hamstring) and Julio Jones (knee), as expected. Coming off the heels of the announcement that the NFL will uphold Mike Evans’ one-game suspension, the Buccaneers will host the Green Bay Packers in their home opener short-handed at wide receiver.
Godwin was expected to miss two-to-three weeks with the hamstring injury, while Jones had no timetable set with his knee injury. As we learned from Todd Bowles tongue-in-cheek press conference response, Jones is regularly scheduled for veteran days off on Wednesdays, leaving the possibility that the 12-year veteran could suit up for Sunday’s important NFC matchup, as the Buccaneers will need all healthy hands on deck.
Also limited at today’s practice were Breshad Perriman, Scotty Miller, and Russell Gage.
Of course, there is still an opportunity for any of the 11 players listed to log either limited or full practices on Thursday and Friday ahead of Sunday’s matchup- we know that Akiem Hicks will be out for a month. Gage is still trying to recover from the hamstring injury suffered in the preseason that has been lingering. A healthy dose of newly-signed Cole Beasley is likely to be seen, especially given the current circumstances of a strong possibility the Buccaneers are without three of their top four options at wide receiver against the Packers.
On the other side, the Packers are just as depleted at wide receiver with Allen Lazard (ankle), Sammy Watkins (hamstring), and Christian Watson (hamstring) all logging limited practices today.
The Buccaneers secondary features the league’s highest-graded pass coverage unit in the NFL and will look to capitalize on the Packers’ with their less-than 100% pass attack. The Packers feature a Top 10 pass rush in the league through two weeks; the potential of missing both Donovan Smith (elbow) and Robert Hainsey (knee) coupled with the laundry list of injuries at wide receiver could prove to be a long day at the office for Tom Brady.
Week 2’s Exam grades are in, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the highest graded coverage unit in the NFL. #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/KNWXKwmLDZ
— Channelside Sports Network (@chsidesports) September 20, 2022
