The Tampa Bay Buccaneers just lost the spark that has made their passing game scary. Rookie wideout Emeka Egbuka, the No. 19 pick and already Tampa Bay’s top separator, is not expected to play against the Lions on Monday Night Football after leaving the 49ers game with a hamstring injury.

That update comes from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, who reported Egbuka is expected to miss this week and could miss additional time.

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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

The ripple effect is ugly. With Egbuka sidelined, Tampa Bay’s receiver room thins out, and Baker Mayfield loses his best man-beater on third down and in the red zone.

Team outlets already hinted at a next-man-up shuffle, with second-year receiver Kam Johnson stepping into an expanded role after Egbuka exited versus San Francisco.

All eyes now swing to Mike Evans. There has been optimistic noise that he is nearing a return, which would be huge, but nothing is locked in as of this writing.

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Even a limited Evans would help dictate coverage and open windows for Johnson and the depth pieces. If Evans cannot go, Tampa Bay’s plan tilts heavily toward a ball control approach, which is not how you want to fight a Detroit offense that forces you to keep pace.

The staff will scheme touches for whoever dresses at receiver and lean on motion, bunch looks, and quick game to manufacture separation that Egbuka normally wins with clean. Expect tight ends to shoulder more of the middle-field workload and for Irving to be featured as a receiver to steal cheap yards early.

If Egbuka’s absence stretches beyond one week, Josh Grizzard will have to redraw chunks of the call sheet to preserve spacing and explosive plays.

Bottom line, the Bucs can still win Monday, but the margin for error just shrank. Egbuka has been that important, and Detroit will make Tampa Bay prove it can create explosive plays without him.