TAMPA, Fla — Two days before kicking off in potentially frigid weather against Washington, the Bucs are holding out hope of at least a mildly replenished depth chart.
Receiver Chris Godwin, sidelined Wednesday and Thursday with an unspecified foot injury, practiced Friday and will be a game-time decision Sunday, coach Bruce Arians said. So will cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting (elbow) and receiver Scotty Miller (turf toe), both of whom recently resumed practice after extended layoffs.
“We’ll see how it is (Saturday),” Arians said, “but (Godwin) looked okay (Friday).”
Tight end Rob Gronkowski (ribs, back), receiver Antonio Brown (ankle) and cornerback/specialist Rashard Robinson (hamstring) won’t travel, Arians said.
The Bucs’ leading receiver (50 catches), Godwin is coming off one of the best games of his career (eight catches, 140 yards, one TD) in the Halloween-night loss at New Orleans. If he can’t go, second-year receiver Tyler Johnson — mildly chastised by Arians in the preseason for arriving at training camp out of shape — could take on a prominent role.
Johnson is coming off his best game of the season (five catches on six targets, 65 yards) against the Saints.
“Very, very steady,” Arians said. “And I think Tom (Brady) has got all the confidence in the world. I’ve got all the confidence in the world in Tyler. He steps up, he plays big every time. It took him a while to get in shape, but he got there.”
Arians also said recent practice-squad acquisition Breshad Perriman, who played for Arians’ inaugural Bucs team two seasons ago, is ready to play if necessary.
“He looks fine,” Arians said. “He remembered a lot of stuff, and we’ll see how it goes for this week, but he looks good.”
Murphy-Bunting and Miller, both of whom have been on the injured list, began a 21-day window last week in which they were permitted to return to practice in the hope of possibly being activated. Both have appeared at all three practices this week, and Arians betrayed optimism when asked if they could be in play Sunday.
“They could be,” he said. “They could be.”
