Injured Buccaneers Stars Active for Sunday Night Football

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense could be close to full strength for their massive Sunday Night Football matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs. Left Tackle Donovan Smith and Wide Receivers Julio Jones and Chris Godwin are all active and should play at Raymond James Stadium.

Inactives for #KCvsTB ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/YiTUWz1N8T
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) October 2, 2022

Smith, Jones, and Godwin had all missed the previous two weeks with injuries sustained in the Bucs' Week 1 win over the Dallas Cowboys. Godwin tweaked his hamstring on a first-half catch-and-run, and Smith hyperextended his elbow on an awkward collision in the second quarter. Jones had been dealing with knee soreness. The Buccaneers have struggled on offense so far this season in part due to the lack of continuity, scoring a modest 51 points through three weeks. Reinforcements provided by Smith, Jones, and Godwin could be the antidote.

Here's the final injury report for the Chiefs and Bucs. pic.twitter.com/z27f05mZyC
— Matt McMullen (@KCChiefs_Matt) September 30, 2022

All three players had been considered game-time decisions following Friday's final injury report. Wide receiver Russel Gage should also play despite his hamstring. The returns come as good news for a Bucs team that operated under a cloud of major uncertainty all throughout the week. With Hurricane Ian looming, the Bucs moved their football operations to Miami and even faced the possibility of the game being relocated outside of Tampa Bay. With the storm behind them and the game set to be carried out in their home stadium, the Bucs have a chance to bring the state of Florida some much-needed positivity as it recovers from a trying week.