Buccaneers Fantasy Football Outlook with Emeka Egbuka a Game-Time Decision for Monday Night Football
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After looking like he’d be out for Monday Night Football all week, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported on Sunday that Emeka Egbuka has a chance to play against the Detroit Lions.
Despite both wide receivers being listed as questionable for Monday night’s game at Detroit, Mike Evans is likely to play and Emeka Egbuka has “a real chance to play” despite suffering a low-grade hamstring strain last Sunday, per sources. Bucs will not decide on Egbuka’s status…
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 19, 2025
Egbuka will test his injured hamstring during pre-game warmups on Monday night, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will then make a decision on Egbuka’s status. It’s a bit surprising to see the rookie become a true game-time decision after suffering a low-grade injury last week, but it looks like he’s been healing faster than expected.
In addition to Schefter’s report on Sunday, he appeared on the Pat McAfee show on Monday and stuck with his report that Egbuka has a chance to play alongside Mike Evans – who is returning from a hamstring injury of his own.
"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
We’ll all be hitting refresh as we approach the 7:00 p.m. ET kickoff time in Detroit, so fantasy owners will have to keep an eye on the news. There’s a good chance we’ll have a final update by around 5:30-6:00 p.m. ET on Egbuka’s status.
Buccaneers Fantasy Football Outlook with Egbuka a game-time decision
The Buccaneers have been piecing things together with Evans and Chris Godwin out, and Egbuka’s early exit threw them into complete disarray last week. Rookie Tez Johnson, second-year player Kameron Johnson, and veteran Sterling Shepard all ably filled in, but the Buccaneers would certainly welcome back their all-time leading receiver in Evans and their Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate in Egbuka.
Current MVP candidate Baker Mayfield has been able to put up big numbers without his preseason top-3 in Evans, Godwin, and Egbuka, but the Lions have a tough pass defense as they’ve allowed just 212.7 passing yards per game to opponents. Mayfield will need all the help he can get on the road, so Egbuka’s return would be an obvious boost to the Buccaneers’ offense (and Mayfield's fantasy value).
If Egbuka is able to suit up on Monday Night Football, he’d immediately become a must-start player for fantasy football owners who have been awaiting his status all week. There would, of course, be a chance that he would be limited in that scenario, but his potential production is too good to pass up as he’s tied for eighth in the league with 469 receiving yards on the season (to go along with 27 receptions and five touchdowns).
Mike Evans is a must-start after missing three games regardless of Egbuka’s injury status, but Shepard and both Johnsons would lose almost all of their fantasy upside if both Evans and Egbuka play.
If Egbuka is, indeed, forced to miss the Monday Night Football showdown against the Lions, it’s worth noting that Kameron Johnson saw the most targets in his absence last week, while tight end Cade Otton would also likely see a small boost in targets.
Once a top-ranked fantasy gamer on ESPN, Nick Raducanu has been playing fantasy sports for over 25 years. His written fantasy coverage includes stops at Rotoworld, Rotowire, and The New York Times.