Through the first part of the NFL season, things had been going just about perfectly for former Ohio State football standout Emeka Egbuka. The rookie was putting on a show for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but on Sunday, adversity arrived for him.
Egbuka went down in the middle of Tampa Bay's win over San Francisco with a hamstring injury and immediately alarm bells went off for both the Ohio State and Tampa Bay faithful. This week, Egbuka underwent an MRI and the expectation was that he'd miss at least one game.
According to Ian Rapoport on Wednesday morning, Egbuka has avoided a serious injury which is the good news, but unfortunately he's going to miss this week. It's up in the air if he'll miss more action or not. This of course rough for Baker Mayfield too, as injuries at wide receiver have been brutal for the Bucs this season. Now, Mayfield and Co. will be without the star rookie for Monday night against Detroit.
From @GMFB: The #Chiefs get WR Rashee Rice back, the #Rams may be without Puka Nacua this week, while the #Bucs likely won’t have WR Emeka Egbuka vs the #Lions. pic.twitter.com/Cf4uPNaLgM
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 15, 2025
Emeka Egbuka is expected to miss Monday Night Football against Detroit
This could have been way worse for the Bucs, but it's still a setback for the speedster. Thankfully, Rapoport added that this is not the same kind of hamstring injury that Mike Evans is dealing with. Egbuka has been nothing short of sensational for Tampa Bay this season, quickly developing a ton of chemistry with Mayfield, who's suddenly in the MVP hunt.
Through six games, the 6-1, 205-pounder has posted 27 receptions for 469 yards (fourth in the NFL) and five touchdowns (tied for third in the league). He's also averaging more than 17 yards per reception, which is also impressive.
In the win over the 49ers, Egbuka hauled in 2-of-4 targets for 24 yards before he suffered his hamstring injury. With Tampa Bay at 5-1 on the year and in first place of the NFC South, it's looking like it could be a season to remember for the Bucs.
However, injuries are starting to pile up and veteran wideout Chris Godwin is expected to miss at least one more week. Mike Evans could get back on the field for MNF, but we know for sure that Egbuka isn't going to be out on the gridiron making plays for Mayfield. Again, it's a setback for the Ohio State great, but luckily it's not season-ending or anything close to that.