There’s no doubt this has been one of the tougher years from an injury standpoint in recent seasons for the Bucs. They’re not only dealing with major injuries to their most important players like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, but they’ve already lost several players for the season while others will be on injured reserve for a while.

Bucs OLB Markees Watts – Photo by: Jeffrey Jones/PR

Lost for the season already is inside linebacker SirVocea Dennis (shoulder) and almost certainly Godwin (ankle). The Bucs have had to weather the storm of missing Calijah Kancey for the first five games of the season, while safety Antoine Winfield Jr. and left tackle Luke Goedeke missed four. Wide receiver Rakim Jarrett also just came back after getting surgery on his knee.

In recent weeks we’ve seen Evans go out along with receiver Kameron Johnson (ankle) and outside linebacker Markees Watts (quad) go on injured reserve. Another wide receiver Cody Thompson, who was a training camp standout, finally had an opportunity to get elevated from the practice squad but he ended up injuring his shoulder and going on injured reserve.

And of course, likely the biggest blow to the team in terms of players on IR is starting cornerback Jamel Dean, who injured his hamstring in Week 6 against the Saints and has to be out for a least one more game before returning.

Todd Bowles Gives An Update For Bucs Players On IR

This long list isn’t on here to upset Bucs fans, but rather to remind everybody that help could be on the way for the Bucs in some cases. This week, Todd Bowles provided an update on various players for when we can see them playing again. We’ll start with the most important player to his defense, cornerback Jamel Dean, who would be eligible to return after the bye week when the Bucs play the Giants.

Bucs CB Jamel Dean – Photo by: USA Today

“I’m hoping so,” Bowles said. “I’m hoping so, he’s getting better. We’ll see how he’s running next week and I’ll have a better determination on it.”

Dean ended up running individually on a separate field during Thursday’s practice, so Bowles was able to get a look. The Bucs have been hit hard a corner with Bryce Hall being out for the whole season after a leg injury in Week 1, followed by Dean’s issue.

This has meant that second-year corner Josh Hayes and undrafted rookie free agent Tyrek Funderburk have stepped in to start opposite of Zyon McCollum. Each of those players have been beaten pretty badly as opponents constantly pick on them with advantageous matchups.

While the news on Dean gives some optimism, the it doesn’t sound as good with practice squad wide receiver Cody Thompson.

“He has a long-term injury right now,” Bowles said.  “He won’t be back any time soon.”

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

A tough break from Thompson, but luckily for the Bucs they’ve been able to get sporadic contributions from Ryan Miller, who was another practice squad player. Miller scored the game tying touchdown on Monday night. Of course Sterling Shepard has become their de facto number one receiver, and Rakim Jarrett and Trey Palmer have pitched in.

Outside linebacker has been a big point of discussion for the Bucs this seaosn. They’re not exactly getting the production they expected out of Yaya Diaby, while others like Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and rookie Chris Braswell haven’t exactly stepped up in terms of production.

The way things are going, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibilities to give Markees Watts some reps if he were available. By how it sounded from Bowles, it’s up in the air on when he’ll come back.

“I don’t know if I’ll expect that yet,” Bowles said on if they’ll open Watts’ practice window. “I haven’t been told to expect that, so I don’t think that’ll be this week.”

Updates On Other Bucs Injuries

Outside of long-term injuries for player on injured reserve, the Bucs also have players that have missed some games that aren’t expected to be out for an extended period of time. Two of those players specifically are rookie wide receiver Jalen McMillan and veteran defensive tackle Greg Gaines.

McMillan had already missed two games in Weeks 4 and 5 with a hamstring injury. Then he wasn’t able to go in Week 9 on Monday Night Football against the Chiefs after testing the hamstring out during warmups. Gaines has missed the last two games with a calf injury.

Bucs WR Jalen McMillan – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The good news is that each player was seen at practice on Thursday, although it was a walk-through. It’s not a guarantee just yet that they’re playing in Week 10 against the 49ers at home.

“They’re questionable, yes,” Bowles said. “I have to see what they do this week, but they are feeling a little better.”

Bowles also went into further detail about McMillan’s situation.

“It’s just aggravated,” Bowles said. “It took a turn for the worse Friday, and it didn’t get any better yet. We’re waiting to see how he feels.”

There’s been questions across the whole wide receiver room that if the new offense with Liam Coen, which requires a lot more pre-snap motion from players, has led to some of these injuries. Their top three receivers and their fifth string receivers are all hurt and outside of McMillan, none of them are coming back soon. Is that a problem?

“I don’t think so,” Bowles said. “He missed some time earlier with a hamstring. It just happened on Friday. He was doing pretty [well]. It’s not like it was an overall hard thing to do, because it was red zone and goal line [periods]. It was just one of those things.”