Bucs head coach Todd Bowles has ruled out three players for Sunday’s Week 17 game at home against the Carolina Panthers. Bowles mentioned after practice that it would be tight end Cade Otton (knee), wide receiver Sterling Shepard (hamstring/foot) and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (knee) that are out.

Bucs TE Cade Otton – Photo by: USA Today

Neither of these players participated in any capacity during the week. This is the second game in a row that Otton is missing while it’s the first time all season that Shepard isn’t playing due to an injury. Winfield last played against the Raiders and will be unavailable for the sixth time this year. At this point, the Bucs would be lucky to get him back for the season finale.

Bowles also said that there are “a few” players that are game time decisions, including inside linebacker K.J. Britt. They’ll have to see about some players in the secondary such as Jamel Dean and Jordan Whitehead, who the Bucs just opened the practice window for. 

Filling Out The Bucs’ Positional Roles 

Tampa Bay has at least seen what it looks like to play without Otton after last week. Backup Payne Durham played 93% of the snaps taking on most of the work. He was fairly productive making five catches for 29 yards last week.

Bucs WR Ryan Miller – Photo by: USA Today

“I thought Payne did a great job filling in for Cade [Otton],” Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “I think he was able to show that some of his route running and just catching the ball – that ability – he’s got great hands. He’s a bigger guy. He’s not as twitchy as Cade but [he has] a little bit bigger frame so we trust him, and he obviously does a lot for us in the run game when Cade is playing too.”

Since Shepard was injured early against the Cowboys, the Bucs adjusted quickly to playing with out him. Tampa Bay has gotten elevated play from Jalen McMillan, and it looks like Ryan Miller, who scored a late touchdown last Sunday, will pick up more of the slack. They’ll also see contributions from Rakim Jarrett and Trey Palmer.

“I think Ryan Miller will step up into one of those roles there,” offensive coordinator Liam Coen said. “Obviously, every time he’s called upon, has made some plays and plays hard and does what we ask him to do…He’s made some plays. You hope Kam Johnson continues to progress, hopefully.

“Then, those other guys: ‘Rock’ (Rakim Jarrett) and Trey [Palmer] – Trey made a big catch on the over route later in the game. Really, the core needs to continue to step up and help Mike [Evans] out in some ways, and they’ve done that. They’ve played better. We had a couple of balls hit our hands last week and didn’t make those plays, which we need to make.”

With Christian Izien going on injured reserve, the Bucs are in a really tough spot. Mike Edwards just came back against the Cowboys, but if Whitehead can’t go, that means they’ll have to call up Ryan Neal once again from the practice squad or young inexperienced players Marcus Banks or Rashad Wisdom.

Izien provided a ton of versatility to the Bucs playing slot and safety. Hopefully the practice reps were good enough for Whitehead to feel comfortable enough to play and help Tampa Bay keep their playoff hopes alive by winning a crucial game against a division rival.