Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, arguably the runaway favorite for offensive rookie of the year, went down with a hamstring injury.
Egbuka was deemed doubtful in the third quarter of Tampa Bay's win over the 49ers. Before this injury, Egbuka was having a quiet performance, but whether this is from the lingering injury is unknown.
Read what fantasy football players should know about Egbuka's injury timeline and fallout for their leagues.
Will Emeka Egbuka miss games due to this injury?
While we are still awaiting the MRI results to confirm any speculation, Egbuke is expected to miss some time, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network:
From @GMFB: #49ers LB Fred Warner, one of the NFL’s best, is out for the season; Meanwhile, #Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka is expected to miss time with a hamstring injury. pic.twitter.com/hvgbBBvDZA
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 13, 2025
It is important to note that Egbuka's hamstring issue is not suspected to be as serious as his teammate Mike Evans. Evans missed his third straight game in Week 6 and still has not returned to any sort of practice.
The good news is, the talks surrounding this injury are nothing more than a setback to an amazing rookie campaign. This is not a season-ending injury, or even one that will land him on IR.
How does this injury affect Emeka Egbuka's fantasy value?
Egbuka had his worst game of the season, but it's unknown if this was due to the hamstring issue or not.
Egbuka was the WR3 overall coming into Week 6. While he's clearly an unbelievable talent, this sort of production can be credited to Evans and Chris Godwin missing a majority of this season.
It's fair to guess that Egbuka will be out for the next 2 weeks before their bye in Week 9. This will give him a solid 3 weeks to rest, which is how long Evans has been out with a more severe hamstring injury.
This is, of course, going to impact Egbuka's season-long finish, but nothing further.
Should I pick up Sterling Shepard or Tez Johnson?
Egbuka's injury has been added to the list of Tampa Bay pass catchers who are missing time. Evans has been out since his Week 3 injury.
Godwin made his season debut in Week 4, but played just two games before being labeled week-to-week.
This means that Sterling Shepard and Tez Johnson will have to hold it down for the Buccaneers.
While Johnson had the bigger fantasy performance in Week 6, it was simply because he caught a lengthy TD pass. Shepard has been more consistently targeted by Baker Mayfield.
Even with both Evans and Eguka playing in those first 2 weeks, Shepard drew in 10 targets in those games.
Shepard, without a doubt, is one of the better Week 7 waiver wire pickups in general, so I would take him over Johnson in Week 6. But if you can't get Shepard, Johnson still offers some upside.