Tom Brady's next chance to pad his legacy will come this Sunday as the Tampa Bay Buccanneers face the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round. Tampa Bay has not had great luck with injuries as the playoffs draw near, though. The statuses of several key players that were listed on the injured reserve list heading into this weekend have now been decided.
According to Jenna Laine of ESPN, linebacker Lavonte David and running back Giovani Bernard will be activated from the IR in time to play. The Buccaneers will not be activating running back Leonard Fournette, though.
Source tells me Lavonte David and Giovani Bernard will be activated from IR. Leonard Fournette will not be activated.
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) January 15, 2022
Fournette, who has been dealing with a hamstring injury, not being available is a big blow for the Buccaneers. He was their leading rusher and scored the second-most touchdowns on the team, behind only Mike Evans. Playoff Lenny was originally thought to be a game-time decision but now will officially be inactive. With Ronald Jones also inactive this weekend, Bernard will have to carry the load on the ground.
David, who was suffering from a foot injury, fortifies a strong defensive unit. Tampa Bay will be happy to have him back as they face one of the best running teams in the NFL. The Buccaneers had to waive a player, cornerback Rashard Robinson, in order to activate David.
Even with the absences to these players, the Buccaneers should be able to get past the Eagles and possibly go even further. They have plenty of studs on both sides of the ball and are fresh off of winning the Super Bowl. Their quest to defend their title starts tomorrow.