The Buccaneers will be down three key names in Week 7, with Tampa Bay officially ruling out receiver Emeka Egbuka, offensive tackle Luke Goedeke and safety Antoine Winfield Jr.
That leaves the Bucs without their top receiver, a starting offensive tackle and one of the anchors of the secondary, a tough hand for Tampa Bay to play this week.
Winfield’s absence is no surprise at this point. Rick Stroud reported weeks ago that he was expected to miss two to four weeks with a rib fracture, and he has now sat out two games because of the injury.
Egbuka’s rise has been a big part of Tampa Bay’s 2026 offense. The 24-year-old was a five-star recruit when he committed to Ohio State, then picked up second-team All-Big 10 honors in 2022 and third-team recognition in each of the next two seasons. The Buccaneers made him the No. 19 overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and he is in the second year of a four-year, $18,147,572 deal that came with a $9,838,231 signing bonus and a fifth-year option for the team to exercise in 2028.
Through six games this season, Egbuka has 28 catches on 49 targets for 240 yards, an 8.6 YPC average, and two touchdowns.
Winfield, meanwhile, remains one of the more decorated players on Tampa Bay’s roster. The 28-year-old was a four-year starter at Minnesota and earned All-American honors in 2019 before the Buccaneers took him in the second round with the No. 45 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
He played out the final season of a four-year, $7,307,182 rookie contract that included a $2,874,314 signing bonus. When he was set to become an unrestricted free agent, Tampa Bay used the franchise tag on him at $17.123 million fully guaranteed, then later locked him in with a four-year, $84.1 million extension ahead of the 2024 season.
In 2026, Winfield has appeared in four games and totaled 24 tackles.
In Other News...
Bucs Get Encouraging Injury News With Sunday Still In Doubt
Several Buccaneers moved back onto the practice field after dealing with illnesses, giving Tampa Bay at least a bit of momentum heading into a divisional matchup with Carolina. Bucky Irving and Zyon McCollum were limited participants, while Calijah Kancey was able to take part fully, a welcome sign for a team trying to get healthier at the right time.
Emeka Egbuka was still absent from practice, and that puts more pressure on an already fluid receiver situation as Sunday approaches. The other name to watch is along the offensive line, where Luke Goedekes status remains unsettled, leaving the Bucs with a couple of important questions to answer before the final injury report is set. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Fans Have Every Right To Be Furious Over This Week 5 Call
The league has already acknowledged what Buccaneers fans saw in real time during Week 5: an officiating mistake left Calijah Kancey on the wrong end of an illegal hands to the face penalty that never should have been his. The call came at a costly moment, and for Tampa Bay it was the kind of flag that can swing a drive, a possession and the mood of an entire game.
What makes the miscue sting even more is that the error was not subtle on review. An NFL officiating analyst said the league office should have stepped in right away and fixed it, which only adds to the frustration around a call that landed on the wrong player and stayed there. For a Bucs team and fan base already living with every break mattering, this was one of those moments that is hard to shrug off. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Need Chris Godwin Jr. More Than Ever Right Now
Chris Godwin Jr. came out of training camp looking like he could still be a steadying force in Tampa Bays passing game, but his role has shrunk under offensive coordinator Zac Robinson as the offense has struggled to find its rhythm. Robinson has already acknowledged the need to clean up the pass game and get Godwin more involved, while Baker Mayfield has said the Buccaneers need to connect with the veteran receiver more often.
The need for that kind of reset has only grown with Godwins yards per catch sitting at a career low and his receiving yardage staying under 50 for seven straight games. Emeka Egbukas health has become another variable after he missed Wednesday and Thursday practices with concussion and foot issues, which could leave Tampa Bay looking for a more reliable chain mover in the passing game than it has had in recent weeks. [Read more 🡒]