As the Bucs head into a Christmas night road game, they have a lot of decisions to make about some of their most important players to the team. After the last practice before their trip, head coach Todd Bowles announced that five Bucs would not be able to play when Tampa Bay goes up against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday Night Football.

Bucs OLB Carl Nassib – Photo by: USA Today

Among the defensive players were nose tackle Vita Vea (calf), outside linebackers Carl Nassib (pectoral) and Genard Avery (abdomen/oblique) and cornerback Jamel Dean (toe). None of these come as a surprise since all of the players mentioned did not play in Week 15, plus Bowles said on Monday that Vea was behind Tristan Wirfs in his progress and mentioned Wednesday that Dean would need more time.

The lone player that Bowles ruled out on offense was starting left tackle Donovan Smith, which is obviously a critical component to the entire matchup. Smith injured his foot last game and missed three plays. He was able tough it out, but didn’t practice at all this week.

Bowles Reveals News On Bucs’ Wirfs, Winfield And More

Since there’s some holiday spirit abound, we can look at the positives for the fact that it looks like right tackle Tristan Wirfs is going to play for the first time in three weeks. His availability becomes even more important with Smith’s absence from the game.

Bucs S Antoine Winfield Jr. – Photo by: USA Today

And if luck can go the Bucs’ way, they might have Antoine Winfield Jr. ready to go as well. Winfield was seen with his teammates for the first time all week in any type of capacity. He mostly just stretched and ran on his own, but it was a step in the right direction.

Bowles wouldn’t rule him out either, saying “We’ll see on Sunday morning.”

In regards to the other safeties in the group, it’ll be interesting to see how much they use Mike Edwards. He made his return to the lineup at home against the Bengals, albeit for 32 of 66 snaps (48%). Will he be on another pitch count on Sunday or can the Bucs get him involved more like they typically do?

“We’ll see how he’s feeling,” Bowles said. “If he’s feeling well, he’ll play full throttle. If not, he’ll still be on that pitch count.”