The Bucs and 49ers are set to renew acquaintances Sunday afternoon at Raymond James Stadium, and while it’s a matchup between two of the top teams in the NFC, it’s also a matchup of two of the most injury-plagued teams in the entire league. Unsurprisingly, the official inactives list for the game is a star-studded one.

There are no surprises for Tampa Bay, as head coach Todd Bowles already ruled out six players ahead of the weekend. The Bucs will be without cornerbacks Zyon McCollum and Benjamin Morrison on defense, while Mike Evans, Chris Godwin Jr., Bucky Irving and Josh Williams are all missing on the other side of the ball.

The good news for Bowles’ defense is that it will be getting Jamel Dean back for Sunday’s game against the 49ers after he left the team’s Week 4 loss against the Eagles with hip and groin injuries and went on to miss last week’s victory over the Seahawks in Seattle.

Bucs CB Jamel Dean – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

But overall, this is still an extremely injured Buccaneer team when you consider McCollum, Morrison, Evans, Godwin and Irving aren’t the only key contributors missing. Right tackle Luke Goedeke remains on injured reserve, while both right guard Cody Mauch and star defensive tackle Calijah Kancey are set to miss the remainder of the season.

Nonetheless, Tampa Bay has fought its way through the injury issues to this point and will now look to get its fifth-ever 5-1 remain near the top of the NFC standings ahead of next week’s Monday Night Football matchup against the Lions in Detroit.

49ers In A Similar Spot As The Bucs Heading Into Week 6

If the Bucs drop Sunday’s game and continue both their recent and long-term struggles against the 49ers, no one will accept any kind of injury excuse. After all, San Francisco is in a similar spot as Tampa Bay and in some cases, Kyle Shanahan’s team is even worse off.

Star pass rusher Nick Bosa is out for the rest of the season already, while six-time Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle is on injured reserve himself and hasn’t played since Week 1. Two-time 1,000-yard receiver Brandon Aiyuk has also yet to play this season after he suffered a torn ACL and MCL in October 2024.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

On top of those key injuries, the 49ers are without starting quarterback Brock Purdy and have been for much of the season. The good news on that front, at least, is that Mac Jones has stepped in and done an admirable job and has a 3-0 record as San Francisco’s starter in 2025. Jones was on the injury report throughout the week himself, but he will make the start once again on Sunday afternoon against the Bucs.

The bad news, though, is that Jones will be without wide receivers Ricky Pearsall in addition to being without Kittle and Aiyuk.

The 49ers defense will get a big boost, though, as safety Malik Mustapha was activated from the reserve/physically unable to perform list on Saturday and is set for his season debut.

Kickoff between the Bucs and 49ers is set for 4:25 p.m. at Raymond James Stadium. Following this Week 6 contest, Tampa Bay heads to Detroit for a Monday Night Football matchup in Week 7 while San Francisco returns home to host the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday Night Football.