EmekaEgbuka

News: 3 days agoEgbuka had more tests done on his injured toe Friday, which confirmed a sprain that's stable, and the Buccaneers are optimistic that the second-year wide receiver will be available Week 1 at Cincinnati on Sunday, Sept. 13, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Spin: Egbuka was rolled up on by a teammate at Wednesday's practice and limped off the field, but at the time, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported that the issue was deemed to be minor. Friday's testing corroborated that belief, and Egbuka now will focus on getting healthy for Tampa Bay's regular-season opener. Once Egbuka is back to 100 percent, he's expected to lead a WR group composed of Chris Godwin, Jalen McMillan (knee) and rookie third-rounder Ted Hurst.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Egbuka is a fascinating evaluation following a rookie season that couldn't have started much better (five TDs and 20.5 fantasy PPG during his first five games), but that fell apart from there (one TD and 7.8 PPG during his final 12 games). By season's end, Egbuka sat in the top 10 in targets and air yards, but a horrific 49% catch rate led to a 34th-place finish in fantasy PPG. The good news is that, with Mike Evans out of the picture and Chris Godwin now 30 years old, Egbuka has a shot to emerge as Baker Mayfield's No. 1 target. The 2025 first-round pick is a strong bet for a leap forward and should be viewed as a WR2 with the potential for a full-on breakout.