Category: Latest Team News

Bucs S Antoine Winfield Jr. being evaluated for another concussion

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers might have to finish Week 12 without one of their best defenders

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers might have to finish Week 12 without one of their best defenders.

Pro Bowl safety Antoine Winfield Jr. left the game in the first half, and is being evaluated for a concussion.

Winfield missed multiple games earlier in the year with a concussion, so another one would obviously be extremely bad news for one of the NFL’s premier safeties.

Keanu Neal has replaced Winfield in the starting lineup for Tampa Bay.

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Bucs inactives: Who’s in, who’s out Sunday vs. Browns?

See who won’t be suiting up for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have released their list of inactive players for Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns, and there aren’t any unpleasant surprises.

Running back Leonard Fournette, wide receiver Russell Gage, and left guard Luke Goedeke had already been ruled out. They’ll be inactive alongside quarterback Kyle Trask, rookie safety Nolan Turner, and veteran tight end Kyle Rudolph.

The most important name is one that’s not on the list, as defensive lineman Vita Vea is active, despite missing practice for most of the week with a foot injury.

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Bucs WR Mike Evans approaching another historic career milestone

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver is about to bolster his already strong Hall of Fame case with another career milestone

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans is already well on his way to a gold jacket, and he’s about to bolster his case for Canton with another impressive career milestone this week.

Evans needs just 28 receiving yards Sunday against the Cleveland Browns to eclipse the 10,000-yard mark for his career. He would be the 51st player in NFL history to cross that threshold, and currently ranks fourth among all active players in receiving yards.

He’s still just 29 years old, which leaves Evans plenty of time to keep climbing that chart.

Evans also needs just 329 receiving yards this season to extend his streak of consecutive 1,000-yard campaigns to nine. He’s the only player in NFL history to start his career with eight straight seasons of at least 1,000 receiving yards, breaking the previous mark of seven, set by Hall of Famer Randy Moss.

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Bucs make roster moves ahead of Sunday’s game vs. Browns

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are shuffling their roster ahead of Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are shuffling their roster ahead of Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns.

Running back Giovani Bernard has been activated from injured reserve, while linebacker J.J. Russell has been waived to clear a spot on the active roster for Bernard.

Bernard suffered an ankle injury in Week 2, and has been out ever since. His return will help Tampa Bay’s depth in the backfield this week, especially with Leonard Fournette ruled out with a hip injury.

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Bucs RB Leonard Fournette (hip) out for Sunday’s game vs. Browns

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette (hip) didn’t make the trip to Cleveland, and will miss Sunday’s game vs. the Browns

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be without one of their top offensive weapons for Week 12.

Running back Leonard Fournette did not make the trip to Cleveland with the rest of the team, and will miss Sunday’s game against the Browns.

Fournette has been dealing with a hip injury that prevented from finishing Tampa Bay’s 21-16 win over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 10.

Rookie third-round pick Rachaad White is expected to get the start at running back for the Bucs, while Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Giovani Bernard should also get some action.

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Todd Bowles preaching consistency as Bucs come out of bye week

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles knows consistency will be key for his team heading into the homestretch of the regular season

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers stacked back-to-back wins just before their bye week, and despite a slow start to the season, they’re still in first place in the NFC South as they look ahead to the homestretch of their schedule.

They’ve seen flashes of potential on both sides of the ball in recent weeks, but Bucs head coach Todd Bowles knows that consistency will be key to getting them where they want to go this year.

The Bucs have yet to play four quarters of complete football in all three phases this season, but Bowles is hoping those kinds of performances will happen regularly over the next seven weeks and beyond:

Their first task? A road trip to Cleveland to face the Browns, where they might have to contend with some less-than-ideal weather, and one of the NFL’s best rushing attacks.

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Bucs hopeful Vita Vea (foot) will be able to play Sunday vs. Browns

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are hoping that defensive lineman Vita Vea will be able to play Sunday despite a foot injury

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have one of the NFL’s most formidable defensive fronts, but a key member of that unit is still in doubt for Week 12.

Defensive lineman Vita Vea has been dealing with a foot injury all week, missing practice on Wednesday and Thursday.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles told the media Friday that Vea’s injury has been improving throughout the week, and they’re hopeful that he’ll be able to play Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.

Having both Vea and veteran Akiem Hicks in the lineup has been a huge boost to Tampa Bay’s run defense, and losing either of them would be a blow.

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Bucs WR Russell Gage, G Luke Goedeke ruled out for Sunday vs. Browns

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be without two members of their offense for Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be without two members of their offense for Week 12.

Wide receiver Russell Gage and left guard Luke Goedeke have both been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns, head coach Todd Bowles confirmed to the media Friday.

Gage has been dealing with a nagging hamstring injury dating back to training camp, while Goedeke is still nursing the foot injury that has kept him out for mutiple weeks.

Defensive lineman Vita Vea has been limited by a foot injury of his own throughout this week, but Bowles said he’ll test it out on Sunday to see whether or not he can play.

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Bucs still aren’t expecting Ryan Jensen back anytime soon

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers aren’t expecting a miraculous return from Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen at this point

When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers placed Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen on injured reserve earlier this year, they did so in a way that ensured he could return to the active roster at some point later in the season.

Jensen suffered a serious knee injury on the second day of training camp, but there was some hope that perhaps he could return at some point this year, even if it wasn’t until the postseason.

Back in 2020, Bucs defensive lineman Vita Vea suffered a broken leg in a Week 5 loss to the Chicago Bears, but returned to help the Bucs win the NFC title game, as well as the Super Bowl.

While it’s still technically possible for Jensen to make that kind of triumphant comeback to the active roster, the Bucs aren’t holding their breath at this point.

“They haven’t told me anything right now. We’re going without him, we expect to go without him,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles told the media after Wednesday’s practice. “If he gets better somehow, then we’ll welcome him back.”

Jensen signed a lucrative three-year contract extension with the Bucs this offseason, just before he was set to hit free agency, and just after Tom Brady had announced that he would be returning for a third season in Tampa Bay.

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Bucs DL Vita Vea (foot) misses practice, status for Sunday unclear

Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive lineman Vita Vea missed Wednesday’s practice with a foot injury, and his status for Sunday is up in the air

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers might be without one of their most important players for Week 12.

Defensive lineman Vita Vea missed practice Wednesday with a foot injury, and his status for Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns is still up in the air, head coach Todd Bowles told the media.

Vita has been a dominant force for the Bucs again this season, racking up 6.5 sacks so far, a rare number for a nose tackle.

The return of Akiem Hicks, along with Vea’s presence, has been a huge boost to Tampa Bay’s run defense. Being without either of them would be an equally large blow as the team prepares to face one of the league’s better rushing offenses in Cleveland.

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