Bucs' Egbuka, Evans to be game-time decisions

TAMPA, Fla. - Tampa Bay Buccaneers manager Todd Bowles said Saturday that wide receivers Emeka Egbuka and Mike Evans volition beryllium game-time decisions for Monday nighttime astatine the Detroit Lions.

Evans, the Bucs' all-time starring scorer, returned to signifier this week aft missing 3 games owed to a hamstring strain suffered successful Week 3 against the New York Jets. He practiced Thursday, had a remainder time Friday and was backmost participating Saturday.

"He draws a treble team," Bowles said of Evans' impact. "It helps the tally game, fig one, due to the fact that it keeps a information retired of the box, positive different country retired of the box. Obviously, he's our go-to feline erstwhile helium is healthy. Because of his size, his height, [and] his quality to set disconnected of routes and everything other - each small happening helium does causes a occupation for the different squad and it makes our different guys better."

In a astonishment move, Egbuka was backmost practicing Saturday successful a constricted capableness aft missing Thursday and Friday owed to a hamstring strain helium suffered successful Week 6 against the San Francisco 49ers. He did not play successful the 2nd fractional of that game. He underwent an MRI Wednesday to find the severity of the strain. Sources told ESPN that the strain is considered mild.

Bowles told reporters of Egbuka, "It's imaginable - it's not definite. It's gonna spell each the mode up until crippled time. He wants to play but that depends connected however helium feels and however helium looks."

Sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter that if Egbuka can't spell against Detroit, helium is expected to person a accidental the pursuing week astatine the New Orleans Saints.

Bowles did regularisation retired moving backmost Bucky Irving, who is inactive dealing with a ft sprain and a enarthrosis subluxation, on with wide receiver Chris Godwin, who is dealing with a fibula injury. Running backmost Josh Williams was ruled retired with a concussion and close defender Luke Haggard, who has stepped successful for Cody Mauch since Mauch landed connected injured reserve, is retired with a enarthrosis injury.

The Bucs 30-19 triumph implicit the 49ers past week moved them to a 5-1 grounds and into archetypal spot successful the NFC standings. The Lions' 30-17 nonaccomplishment to the Kansas City Chiefs dropped them to 4-2 and 2nd successful the NFC North.