Bucs Star Takes Major Step In Return To Action
The Bucs have been hit hard by injuries throughout the first half of the 2025 season, and to this point, they’ve weathered the storm. Tampa Bay is 6-2 and leading the NFC South by 1.5 games, plus it sits in the No. 2 spot in the NFC playoff picture heading into Week 10.
It’s crucial, though, that the Bucs get healthier coming out of their Week 9 bye and get some key players back for the second half of the season, which begins Sunday at Raymond James Stadium against the 7-2 Patriots. This is the start of a three-game gauntlet out of the bye, one that features a home game against the Patriots followed by road games against the 6-2 Bills and 6-2 Rams.
As they return from their bye week and prepare for that tough three-game stretch, the Bucs had some good news on the injury front. They announced Monday that they have opened the 21-day practice window for star right tackle Luke Goedeke, who has been on injured reserve since reaggravating a foot injury in a Week 2 win over the Texans. He will now be eligible to return from injured reserve at any time during the 21-day window.
Tampa Bay was without Goedeke for most of that Week 2 game in Houston, and he has since missed six games. Initially, there was some thought that he could be in line to return after the minimum four games missed, which would’ve meant a return to action against the Lions in Week 7. He was seen walking around without a boot in the locker room a few weeks ago and no longer seemed to have a limp, which felt like a good sign that he could potentially return to practice sooner than later.
However, Goedeke didn’t make a return before the bye and with the start of his 21-day practice window coming out of the week off, perhaps that means his comeback could be on the shorter side of that window. The Bucs would certainly love for that to be the case, as long as that foot is fully healed and big No. 67 is his real self when he suits back up down the stretch.
Bucs O-Line Would Love To Get A Healthy Luke Goedeke Back ASAP
Tampa Bay has certainly missed Luke Goedeke over the last six games. Charlie Heck stepped in at right tackle in Week 2 and has started every game since, and it’s obvious that this offensive line just is not the same when Heck is there in Goedeke’s place.
The absence of right guard Cody Mauch certainly hurts, too, but Goedeke’s impending return should at least get the line as close to normal as it can possibly be given Mauch’s season-ending injury, which also came in Week 2 when Goedeke reaggravated his foot.
When Goedeke returns and takes back over for Heck at right tackle, it’ll be the first game this season that the Bucs will play with even four of their five starting linemen in their normal positions. Early on in the season, center Graham Barton started at left tackle for an injured Tristan Wirfs, while left guard Ben Bredeson took over for Barton at center. Mike Jordan then stepped in for Bredeson at left guard.
By the time Wirfs came back, Goedeke and Mauch were out of action. So, as much as it helped to have the All-Pro back at left tackle and Barton and Bredeson back to their normal positions, the entire right side of the line was still in flux. When Goedeke is back on the field, Mauch will be the only one missing from the starting line.
And when that return to normalcy comes for the Buccaneer offensive line, the hope is that it’ll revive the struggling offense as a whole. There’s still the matter of Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan’s long-term injuries and the need to get Bucky Irving and Chris Godwin Jr. back, but having 4/5 of one of the league’s best offensive lines back together should be a big help for an offense that scored nine points in Week 7 and just 16 against the Saints in Week 8.
Goedeke’s return, along with the eventual return of Bucky Irving, should help to revive Tampa Bay’s run game, which ranks 24th in the league at 98.1 yards per game. A resurgence for the run game would help alleviate some of the pressure on Baker Mayfield, whose MVP-level play carried the offense for the first six weeks before it began to dip in the two games before the bye week.
Since Goedeke stepped into the right tackle spot ahead of the 2023 season, the Bucs offensive line has helped the offense rank in the top 10 in points per game (24.9), total yards per game (350.0), yards per play (5.6), passing yards per game (235.0), net yards per pass attempt (7.0), third-down conversion rate (44.2%), fourth-down conversion rate (61.4%), and time of possession (30:46) throughout that span.
There’s a reason Goedeke was rewarded with a four-year, $90 million deal in September, as he’s a cornerstone of the Tampa Bay offense. Getting him back ahead of a Week 10 clash with 7-2 New England would be fantastic, but having him return at any point during this upcoming three-game stretch will be a major boost for Josh Grizzard and Baker Mayfield’s offense.
Stay tuned to PewterReport.com as the week unfolds, as Wednesday’s injury report will be the first clue as to whether Goedeke could return as soon as Sunday.
Kyle Shanahan finally admits what everyone suspected about 49ers' Brock Purdy
The San Francisco 49ers have been without quarterback Brock Purdy for much of this season. He did not suit up yet again on Sunday versus the New York Giants, and after the game, head coach Kyle Shanahan said what had long been suspected.
Addressing media after the game, Shanahan said, "We’re trying to ease Brock out there, but anytime you’re dealing with this turf toe, it’s probably something that probably won’t fully go away all year, regardless of when he comes back. … It’s a little bit of a tricky decision."
Finally, Shanahan has admitted that Purdy's turf-toe issue is going to linger for the rest of the season no matter what. This has seemed like the case with how long it has taken for Purdy to get back on the practice field and with the weekly routine of him doing some activities but not being fully ready to go.
Shanahan is right that this creates a tricky decision for the Niners. Mac Jones has been more than serviceable as a backup and has clearly looked comfortable in Shanahan's offense. He has completed 67.2 percent of his passes this season for 1,832 yards and 10 touchdown passes compared to five interceptions.
After Purdy re-injured his toe in the team's Week 4 contest against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the strategy has seemed to be to let Purdy's toe heal fully before having him start again.
But Shanahan has now admitted that the toe almost certainly will not heal fully this year, so he is going to be at greater risk of hurting himself if he goes out there to play.
The less risky option at this point is probably to stick with Jones. He is not at 100 percent health himself but has at least proven he can grit through his ailments and still play winning football. Purdy was clearly still hampered by the toe issue in Week 4, and it may have cost the Niners the game, so why risk throwing him out there when Jones has played so well?
It is not an easy choice since the Niners have so much money committed to Purdy, and when fully healthy, he would be a superior option to Jones. But if Purdy is going to be dealing with the toe issue for the rest of the year, that would seemingly take away (or at least limit) his ability to scramble, which is the one area he has a huge leg up on Jones.
As for right now, it seems like the 49ers are just going to ride the hot hand with Jones. It is the less risky option given they do not know how Purdy will play given the toe issue and do not want him to keep re-injuring himself.
