The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost two of their biggest offensive contributors Monday night when Mike Evans went down with a hamstring injury and Chris Godwin dislocated his ankle only to be eventually ruled out for the season.
That leaves a passive gap in production to be filled on offense. Evans and Godwin directly impact Tampa Bay’s passing offense, but the Bucs will need help across the board to protect their home field against the Atlanta Falcons
Jalen McMillan and Sterling Shepard presume the primary responsibilities as receivers now, though the Bucs could turn to a reliance on their backfield trio moving forward.
Rookie running back Bucky Irving makes up one third of that combination, but his status was in doubt this week with a foot injury. Luckily for Tampa Bay, it appears their budding star should be good to go Sunday afternoon.
“Barring anything happening, he should be okay,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said Friday. “It’s a toe injury he’s had since college, something he’s been having to deal with his whole life.”