There's a lot on the line as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head up to Detroit for a Monday night showdown with the Lions, but one big question looms over it all.
Will star rookie Emeka Egbuka play?
Egbuka left last week's win over the 49ers with a hamstring injury, because of course he did. Not only have the Bucs been cursed with injuries to key players all season, it seems the fine print in everyone's contract is that they need to sacrifice their hamstrings in order to collect.
His injury comes at a time when the Bucs are expected to get Mike Evans back from the exact same injury, one that has held him out since Week 3. It's Egbuka, though, who everyone wants to know about -- especially fantasy football owners hoping he can give them an unexpected boost.
Well, worry no longer. Bucs insider Rick Stroud rode in like Paul Revere to announce the good news that Egbuka will play after being cleared during pregame warmups.
Emeka Egbuka will play tonight after testing his hamstring pregame. Both Mike Evans and Egbuka expected to play against a best up Lions secondary.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) October 20, 2025
ESPN's Adam Schefter gave an encouraging update earlier in the day, appearing on the Pat McAfee Show to say that not only is Evans expected to play, but it seems like Egbuka is going to as well.
He didn't confirm Egbuka's status, but Schefter said he has a 'real chance to play' against the Lions. That might not seem like a lot in a nutshell, but we've gone from Egbuka likely being out to him being a game-time decision heading into Monday night.
"We're talking about the Detroit Lions basically missing their entire starting secondary tonight..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 20, 2025
I think Mike Evans is gonna play and Emeka Egbuka also has a real chance to play tonight" @AdamSchefter #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/DrK9itwyp9
The real question isn't wondering if Egbuka is playing, rather pondering whether he should. Earlier in the week Bucs beat writer Greg Auman noted that it's not often that a player exits a game due to a hamstring injury and doesn't end up missing some time. We've seen that happen most recently with Evans and it's why we all assumed Egbuka would be out for the game against Detroit.
It's great that he's trending toward playing, but the best move might be to rest him and not potentially sacrifice long-term gains for short-term benefit.
Tampa Bay hasn't yet played a game this year with Evans, Egbuka, Chris Godwin, or Bucky Irving all on the field together. That time will come, barring some sort of nightmare scenario, and it will likely happen when it matters most -- the playoffs.
Playing Egbuka against the Lions feels like a good move, but risking him potentially suffering a worse injury doesn't seem worth it. Detroit is a top-tier team, but the Bucs are 5-1 without having a fully healthy roster and managed to win games while missing guys like Evans, Irving, and Godwin.
With Evans returning, the cycle of having at least one key player healthy continues, which means they could end up getting a win without needing to risk Egbuka's health. That might seem overly cautious but the Bucs have bigger goals -- Super Bowl goals -- coming into focus and can't afford to throw themselves off course.