As the Bucs gear up for the playoffs, they will potentially get some key players back for their run. The team has been without running back Leonard Fournette on offense since injuring his hamstring in Week 15. In the same game, linebacker Lavonte David suffered a foot injury and was subsequently placed on injured reserve with Fournette.

Outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul missed the Week 16 game due to multiple ailments. Meanwhile, Shaq Barrett went down with a knee injury just before the half and is now on the team’s reserve/COVID list. All hope is not lost though. In fact, head coach Bruce Arians is focused on the light at the end of the tunnel.

“Hopefully, we’ll have almost everybody back defensively next week,” Arians said. “So we’ll wait and see how that goes.”

Bucs RB Ronald Jones II – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

That includes running back Leonard Fournette as well. But Arians is not as quite sure about his running mate, Ronald Jones.

“I’m pretty sure Lenny will be ready to go, but we’ll have to wait and see about RoJo’s ankle,” Arians said. “He can run straight, but he still can’t cut.”

Jones injured his ankle in the Bucs win over the New York Jets in Week 17. Second-year back Ke’Shawn Vaughn will start in his stead in the team’s regular season finale against the Panthers on Sunday. However it shakes out, the Bucs have built solid depth throughout the season. Getting key contributors back for the postseason will just increase Tampa Bay’s chances of repeating as Super Bowl champions.