Depleted Buccaneers May Be Short Another Wide Receiver Sunday Vs. Jets

The month of December has not been kind to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and it looks as if January - and 2022 as a whole - aren't looking much better for the defending Superbowl Champions. Brushing aside an ugly 9-0 loss to the New Orleans Saints, the Bucs went 3-1 as a team last month, but they have been riddled with injuries to key players over the last couple of weeks. First, they lost leading receiver Chris Godwin for the remainder of the season due to an ACL tear, then 2-time Pro-Bowl Linebacker Shaquil Barret sprained both his ACL and MCL and is expected to miss at least the rest of the regular season. Mike Evans missed last week's game against the Carolina Panthers with a strained hamstring and will be a game-time decision this Sunday as well, but it has been reported that he will most likely not play this Sunday when the Bucs visit the New York Jets.

As if all that wasn't bad enough, it is now being reported that WR Antonio Brown tweaked his ankle in practice and may not play this Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

Goodwin says Antonio Brown "tweaked" his ankle a little in practice this week but is still possible to play this week. They'll decide how he feels Sunday and go from there.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) December 31, 2021

This is potentially disastrous news for a pass-heavy offense that could be missing their top 3 receivers. If all 3 miss Sunday's game then expect Tyler Johnson to be the main target of Tom Brady, and to see a lot of Ronald Jones II. Stay tuned for updates closer to game-time.