Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield ready for star duo's return after positive injury update

Adam Schultz

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Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield ready for star duo's return after positive injury update image

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers appear to be getting healthier at the right time of the year, with Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan both edging closer to returns.

With the pair of receivers being out for a long time (McMillan hasn't played all season), getting both back would be huge for the offense and Baker Mayfield.

Head coach Todd Bowles confirmed the pair participated in a walkthrough on Wednesday, but stated Thursday is when the team will know more about the progress Evans and McMillan are making.

For Baker, he was just happy to see the duo back on the practice field.

“Mike just attracts so much attention,” Mayfield said. “His playmaking ability is great to have. I can trust him, know where he's going to be. It really affects how a defense is going to play you. We'll see how they progress.

"For J-Mac, it's obviously been a long time coming, going back to training camp and in a preseason game, he's worked his tail off to get to this point. So, hopefully he keeps heading in the right direction.”

More: Buccaneers tap the brakes on optimism over WR duo returning in Week 14

Buccaneers' offense getting healthy

While a Week 14 return for McMillan and Evans is highly unlikely given how much football they have missed, the fact that they are now at the stage of looking at being involved in practice on Thursday is a good sign.

No doubt a ramp-up period will be needed, and that could take a couple of weeks, maybe less, so while there are no doubt positive vibes around the building that two weapons are on the edge of returning, it appears there is a little way to go before both are cleared.

But this Buccaneers team, which is in a proper dog fight for the division, needs all the help it can get, and it's on the way; it just might not be ready for Week 14.

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Contributing Writer