The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are finally starting to look whole again, just in time for a critical Week 13 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals. Running back Bucky Irving, sidelined since Week 4 with shoulder and ankle issues, is expected to rejoin Baker Mayfield in the lineup after being listed as questionable, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
With Tampa Bay trying to halt a three-game skid and steady a 6-5 season, getting both their starting quarterback and one of their most dynamic backs on the field at the same time is a significant late-season boost.
If it feels like the Bucs have been waiting on reinforcements forever, it is because they basically have. As detailed by Ian Rapoport on NFL.com, Tampa Bay has played most of the year without promising second-year receiver Jalen McMillan, who has yet to appear in a game after suffering a neck injury in the preseason. That is now changing. Per Rapoport, the team is preparing to open McMillan’s practice window, and if all goes well, he could be back on the field this week.
Head coach Todd Bowles also said this past week that he expects McMillan, veteran receiver Mike Evans (broken clavicle), and defensive lineman Calijah Kancey (torn pectoral) all to be back before the season ends.
Evans, who broke his collarbone in a Week 7 loss to the Lions, is trending in the right direction and could be only a week or so away, depending on upcoming scans. Chris Godwin, limited most of the year after last season’s fibula injury, is also expected to see his workload increase after playing only a handful of snaps in his initial return.
Mayfield, meanwhile, is set to play through a sprained AC joint in his non-throwing shoulder suffered in Week 12, with Irving also returning to stabilize the backfield. Add in starting guard Ben Bredeson and linebacker Haason Reddick likely returning, and suddenly Tampa Bay’s offense and overall depth look much closer to what the front office envisioned in August.
For a team still fighting for a playoff position in a wide-open NFC South, the timing could not be better. If McMillan’s neck holds up, Evans gets back on the field, and Mayfield and Irving stay upright, the Buccaneers might finally have the full cast they need to turn a banged-up, uneven season into a dangerous late surge.
