The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have to navigate yet another game without three of their best offensive players, wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin and running back Bucky Irving.
Irving (foot/shoulder) and Godwin (fibula) were able to log limited practices this past week, which amounted to an upgrade for both after neither one had practiced before that since suffering their injuries.
As for Evans, he remains on injured reserve for another week with his broken clavicle and will have to miss at least one more game thanks to the four-week-minimum stay on injured reserve.
Here are the latest injury updates on all four players.
When is Mike Evans coming back?
Evans will first be eligible to return in Week 13 against the Arizona Cardinals, but he's expected to be out longer than that.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Evans could be out about six to eight weeks with his injury, but he could return at some point in December.
The six-to-eight week timeline makes it possible that we could see Evans back anywhere between Weeks 14 to 16. At the very least, he'll be back by the postseason, assuming there are no setbacks.
When is Bucky Irving coming back?
Based on the fact that Irving returned to practice this past week, that opens the door for him to make his return to the field in Week 12.
However, given how unpredictable things have been with Irving's injuries up until this point, we wouldn't give him better than a 50/50 chance of playing.
When is Chris Godwin coming back?
Like Irving, a return to practice this week would seem to suggest that Godwin has a shot to play in Week 12.
But we can't forget about ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reporting that the expectation is the Buccaneers will keep Godwin out until late-November, early December.
"So, him coming back with the injury last year as well, and then he aggravated his fibula early in the year, they just don't want to press it with him," Fowler said of Godwin's status.
"They're thinking late November, December with Chris Godwin, so we'll take it week to week with him."
Based on that report, we'd say Godwin has a less than 50/50 chance of suiting up in Week 12.
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