Bucky Irving, Mike Evans injury update: Buccaneers stars off to bad start for Week 6

Mike Moraitis

Bucky Irving, Mike Evans injury update: Buccaneers stars off to bad start for Week 6 image

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn't have the services of running back Bucky Irving or wide receiver Mike Evans in the Week 5 win over the Seattle Seahawks.

Despite their absences, the Bucs were just fine, as the team dropped a whopping 38 points on the Seattle Seahawks in a winning effort on Sunday.

While that's all well and good, there is no doubt that the Buccaneers are a better team with both Evans and Irving on the field, so the hope is that both are back sooner rather than later.

Unfortunately, the hopes of that happening this week aren't looking good to begin the week.

Bucky Irving, Mike Evans injury update

According to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, neither Irving nor Evans were spotted at practice on Wednesday. The Bucs will release their injury report soon, but we would expect both to be listed as non-participants.

Evans has missed the last two games with a hamstring issue that wasn't thought to be as bad as the one he had last season that cost him three games. Thus, it was believed Evans could be back for Week 6.

Meanwhile, Irving is dealing with foot and shoulder injuries that are expected to sideline him at least two weeks, so his lack of participation is not a surprise.

Evans' current situation is less concerning, as we've seen the veteran put in little to no practice time and still play on several occasions over the years.

The uncertainty surrounding Irving is more alarming, especially after he made a post to social media that seemed to suggest he was dealing with something serious.

Nevertheless, we'll be on the lookout for the Wednesday injury report and hope that Thursday yields better results.

If Irving sits, Rachaad White will once again take the reins of the backfield, while Chris Godwin and Emeka Egbuka will continue to pick up the slack in the passing game if Evans is ruled out again.

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Mike Moraitis

Mike Moraitis is a freelance writer who covers the NFL for the Sporting News. Over his nearly two decades covering sports, Mike has also worked for Bleacher Report, USA TODAY and FanSided. He hates writing in the third person.