Wide receiver Emeka Egbuka is the first player in Tampa Bay Buccaneers history to score three touchdowns in his first two NFL games. He'll have a chance to add to that total on Sunday when the Buccaneers take on the New York Jets in Tampa Bay's Week Three home opener.
Egbuka missed two of the Bucs' three practices this week due to hip and groin injuries and was limited during Friday's workout but has been cleared to play. The Buccaneers will once again be without All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs (knee) and wide receiver Chris Godwin (ankle), both of whom have yet to play in 2025 as they return from injuries.
Tampa Bay's offensive line troubles are not fully reflected in Sunday's inactive list because both right tackle Luke Goedeke and right guard Cody Mauch were placed on injured reserve this week. The Buccaneers have since promoted Luke Haggard from the practice squad and signed Dan Feeney off the Buffalo Bills' practice squad. In addition, tackle Tyler McLellan was elevated from the practice squad on Saturday and is available to play against the Jets. The Buccaneers' expected starting lineup of left tackle Graham Barton, left guard Elijah Klein, center Ben Bredeson, Haggard at right guard and right tackle Charlie Heck does not include a single player in the spot the Bucs anticipated heading into the 2025 season.
The Buccaneers and Jets submitted their list of inactives at 11:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, 90 minutes before the scheduled kickoff of their Week Three meeting at Raymond James Stadium. After elevating McLellan, the Buccaneers had 54 available players and thus had to name six inactives to get down to the game-day limit of 48. The Jets elevated safety Dean Clark and rookie quarterback Brady Cook from their practice squad and will be required to name seven players inactive.
Cook will serve as the backup to quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who is taking over for the injured Justin Fields. Fields started the Jets first two games but suffered a concussion last Sunday against Buffalo and did not clear NFL protocol to return for Week Three. Cook signed with the Jets as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan in May.
Like the Buccaneers, the Jets had a lengthy injury report in Week Three and most of their inactives are unavailable for that reason. New York's defense will be without two starters in edge rusher Jermaine Johnson (ankle) and safety Tony Adams (hip); Adams had initially been listed as questionable on Friday's injury report but was downgraded to out by the Jets on Saturday. Starting wide receiver Josh Reynolds is also out on Sunday thanks to a hamstring injury. Michael Carter, the Jets' slot corner, was also listed as questionable on Friday but has been cleared to play.
BUCCANEERS INACTIVES
- TE Devin Culp
- WR Chris Godwin
- CB Kindle Vildor
- RB Josh Williams
- T Tristan Wirfs
- S Rashad Wisdom
Godwin and Wirfs are out due to injury.
JETS INACTIVES
- S Tony Adams
- QB Justin Fields
- OLB Jermaine Johnson
- RB Kene Nwangwu
- OL Esa Pole
- WR Josh Reynolds
- DL Jay Tufele
Adams, Fields, Johnson, Nwangwu, Reynolds and Tufele are out due to injury.
