The Buccaneers won’t be getting wide receiver Chris Godwin or running back Bucky Irving back for their Week 7 Monday night game.
Head coach Todd Bowles said that the two players are “not in play” to return against the Lions. Godwin has a fibula injury while Irving has foot and shoulder injuries. Both players missed Sunday’s win over the 49ers and Irving was also out in Week 5.
Bowles said that the team is still waiting for the results of an MRI of wide receiver Emeka Egbuka’s hamstring. The rookie left the 49ers win due to the injury.
The results of that test will provide more clarity about Egbuka’s availability and the coming days will shed more light on wide receiver Mike Evans, cornerback Zyon McCollum, and cornerback Benjamin Morrison. Bowles said that there’s hope those three players can return to practice this week.
Lions safety Brian Branch is in hot water with his head coach and with the league office. As the NFL decides what to do about Branch after he met Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster’s offer of a postgame handshake with a blow to the head, Branch’s history of fines will surely be a factor.
Via Spotrac.com, Branch has had three fines already this season. Branch was fined for taunting and for a facemask foul against the Packers, and for a low block against the Ravens. Branch was fined seven times during the 2024 season.
Even without the history of fines, Branch’s conduct was — as Lions coach Dan Campbell called it — “inexcusable.” It’s possible that the Lions will suspend him before the league even has a chance to do it. Chances are the team and the league will coordinate on a solution.
The question then will be whether Branch will appeal, or whether he’ll accept whatever punishment is imposed. Given that he eventually has to co-exist with Campbell, it could be a good idea for Branch to take it and move on.
However it plays out, there’s a good chance the Lions won’t have Branch when they host the 5-1 Buccaneers next Monday night.
The Buccaneers came into Sunday’s game light on offensive stars and they lost another one during the game when Emeka Egbuka hurt his hamstring, but that wasn’t enough to keep them from picking up their fifth win of the season.
Baker Mayfield threw touchdowns to Tez Johnson and Kameron Johnson while running backs Rachaad White and Sean Tucker ran for scores while filling in for Bucky Irving in the 30-19 victory over the 49ers. Mayfield completed two passes to Egbuka before his injury and was 15-of-21 for 232 yards outside of those plays, which showed that he was able to adjust to the situation by believing in the players that were able to play.
“I truly, genuinely trust the guys that are in there,” Mayfield said, via the team’s website. “They’re ready. We talk throughout the week. Guys are on the same page. I trust these guys, even though some of them may not have played a whole lot of ball, but when we’re on the same page, good things happen. You don’t have to have the perfect play when all your guys are fighting for each other and on the same page and that’s an example of that. Defense played great, special teams as well, and so it’s complementary football.”
Mayfield also called his own number on one of the most memorable plays of the game. On a third-and-14 late in the third quarter, Mayfield evaded a heavy pass rush, took off downfield and dove to pick up a first down that set up one of his touchdown throws. It’s the kind of play that finds itself on an MVP reel and Mayfield’s ability to keep the offense rolling through adverse situations is only helping build the buzz for Mayfield as a contender for that prize.
Lions safety Brian Branch has garnered a reputation through his first few years in the league, accumulating more than $100,000 in fines over his first three years in the league. He even had $23,186 docked from his paycheck earlier this year.
He’s likely going to see another reduction in pay — if not a suspension — for his actions at the end of the Lions’ loss to the Chiefs on Sunday night.
After Patrick Mahomes took his final kneel down to finish the game, the NBC broadcast showed Branch crossing the line of scrimmage and first refusing to shake Mahomes’ hand. Then Branch and receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster appeared to have a short exchange before Branch struck Smith-Schuster in the face with an open hand.
That prompted running back Isiah Pacheco to come up and grab Branch, moving him away from Smith-Schuster. But that’s when a fracas was on, as both teams came up to separate the players. Branch appeared to land at least another punch before things settled down.
“We play the game in between the whistles,” Mahomes told NBC’s Melissa Stark in his postgame interview. “They can do all the extra-curricular stuff they want to do. But we thought we played a great game today, and we’ll keep this momentum moving forward.”
Branch came into Sunday’s game questionable with an ankle injury and finished the contest with seven total tackles.
We’ll see how the NFL decides to impose discipline for the incident.
Buccaneers star rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka exited Sunday’s win over the 49ers with a hamstring injury. Whether he’ll miss the Week 7 Monday night showdown with the Lions remains to be seen.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the injury currently isn’t believed to be serious. However, the full details will be determined via an MRI. Based on the results of the imaging, Emeka could miss time.
The Bucs already are without receiver Mike Evans and receiver Chris Godwin. Evans remains out with a hamstring injury, and Godwin missed Sunday’s game with a fibula issue.
Ebguka had only two catches for 24 yards on Sunday. For the season, he has 27 catches for 469 yards and five touchdowns.
