Buccaneers Thursday Injury Report: Evans, Dean DNP; Godwin Practices Fully
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have released their Thursday injury report ahead of this Sunday's matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. Below, you'll find everything that you need to know.
Wide receiver Mike Evans, nominated by Tampa Bay for the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year award on Thursday, bumped down from limited participation on Wednesday to did not participate on Thursday as he deals with a hamstring injury. Cornerback Jamel Dean (groin) and tight end Rob Gronkowski (not injury related) also did not practice, Dean missing his second day in a row.
While the first bit of wide receiver news isn't great, there is good to follow, Chris Godwin has returned to full participation after undergoing a procedure to remove pins from a broken left index finger on Tuesday. Head coach Bruce Arians hadn't planned on Godwin catching passes until Friday, but it's a good sign that he is back on the field. Linebacker Lavonte David (NIR) was also a full participant after missing Wednesday.
Nose tackle Steve McLendon (elbow) made the jump from DNP to limited participation on Thursday, joining linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul (knee) and left tackle Donovan Smith (ankle).
There was only one change across Minnesota's lengthy injury report from Wednesday, that being tight end Irv Smith Jr. (back) being a limited participant after DNP'ing the day before. Star linebacker Eric Kendricks (calf) did not participate for the second day in a row after being a late scratch for last Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Tight end Kyle Rudolph (foot) missed his second practice in as many days, too.
