Bucs Star WR Misses Practice Ahead of Ravens Matchup

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers went into Sunday's game against the Saints the healthiest they had been since Week 1. All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr returned to the lineup and made his presence felt immedietly with a scoop and score on a 56-yard fumble return for a touchdown. Defensive lineman Calijah Kancey made his season debut, notched his first sack, and put consistent pressure on New Orlean's rookie quarterback Spence Rattler all game. Rookie wideout Jalen McMillan also returned after missing time with a hamstring injury.

While mostly healthy heading into Week 6, the Bucs were without starting center Graham Barton with a hamstring injury and running back Rachaad White, who missed the game with a foot injury. Robert Hainsey, the team's starting center in 2022 and 2023 stepped in Barton's place. While rookie Bucky Irving and second-year back Sean Tucker came in for White and ran all over the Saints' defense to the tune of 217 yards and two scores. Also out was versatile defensive back Christian Izien, who had filled in for Winfield Jr. since Week 1 and made several plays, including a huge interception against the Lions. Receiver Trey Palmer remained sidelined with a concussion.

Unfortunetly it wasn't all good news in the Bucs 51-27 rout of the Saints. The defense lost starting cornerback Jamel Dean early in the game with a hamstring injury. Dean was replaced by undrafted rookie Tyrek Funderburk who held his own but gave up a few plays. The other big injury was to wide receiver Mike Evans. Evans was able to finish the game but was limited in his usage. He finished the game with 44 snaps, which was just 57% of the offensive plays.

On the Bucs' first injury report of the week, Evans did not practice on Thursday. His Hamstring injury will be something to monitor closely as the Bucs' Monday night game against the Baltimore Ravens approaches. Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said in his weekly press conference that Evans "tweaked his leg" but "is getting better". However, he did say the injury has been nagging him. He was listed on the injury report with knee and calf injuries leading up to the Week 5 game against the Falcons so when he got injured and how long he has been banged up is uncertain. Evans has a history of hamstring injuries and has missed several games throughout his career with the injury.

It appears like Dean may miss some time due to his injury which would thrust Funderburk into a larger role than the team may have envisioned at the beginning of the season. Tight end Payne Durham was a new name to the injury report and is dealing with a calf injury. If he can't go, we will likely see the debut of rookie Devin Culp on the gameday roster.

However, there was some good news as Barton, White, Izien, and Palmer all returned to practice in a limited capacity this week. Second-year wideout Rakim Jarrett also made his return to practice on Thursday as well. Jarrett was placed on injured reserve at the beginning of the season with a knee injury. Bowles revealed the receiver had to have knee surgery but has healed and the team opened his 21-day practice window to return.