Cleared Mayfield won't have WR Egbuka as target vs. Panthers

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  Jenna LaineOct 23, 2026, 01:43 PM ET

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  Jenna Laine covers the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for ESPN. She started covering the Bucs for ESPN in 2016, but she has covered the team since 2009. Jenna is a former cheerleader at the University of South Florida and speaks to the consistency of the program as being one of the top best in the nation.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield will make his return Sunday at the Carolina Panthers following a three-game absence, but he will be without his top target in wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, coach Todd Bowles said Friday.

"It felt good for him, so it looks like he's ready to go," Bowles said of Mayfield. "He had a normal week of practice."

Egbuka suffered a concussion and a foot injury in the Buccaneers' Week 6 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He never left the game to be checked for a concussion, and it wasn't until Egbuka was back in the building this week that he developed symptoms and was placed in the protocol.

"We couldn't figure out which play it was," Bowles said. Egbuka did take a particularly tough hit in the fourth quarter when Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen's shoulder collided with the wide receiver's helmet on an incomplete pass. "I did [see it], but there were several plays that it could have happened or not happened on," Bowles said.

The NFL employs independent spotters each week to where even if a player doesn't experience or self-report symptoms on the sideline or the training staff doesn't see an impact hit, a player can still be assessed.

Starting right tackle Luke Goedeke will also be out, as will safety Antoine Winfield Jr., Bowles said.

Goedeke suffered a calf injury in Week 6 and did not practice Wednesday or Thursday but did return Friday in a limited capacity. Winfield has missed the past two games with a rib fracture but did return to practice in a limited capacity this week.

Cornerback Benjamin Morrison, who missed the past three weeks with a quad injury, and running back Sean Tucker (quad) carry no injury designation.