Buccaneers at Saints: Game Day inactives

The Buccaneers are getting some players back this week as they take on their NFC South rivals

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are still without wide receiver Antonio Brown, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t working their way back to full strength. Rob Gronkowski, Richard Sherman, and Lavonte David all participated in practice this week ahead of a big divisional matchup with the 4-2 New Orleans Saints. A win today would put the Bucs in a great position headed into the bye, sitting at 7-1 and 2-0 in the division.

Gronk, Sherman, and David are all active and ready to roll. David’s return will certainly help fellow linebacker Devin White in shutting down Alvin Kamara who drives the Saints’ offense. Since White joined the Bucs, Kamara has averaged less than 90 total yards per game against the Buccaneers versus over 120 before the Bucs drafted the LSU linebacker.

For the Saints, they are missing a key offensive lineman in Andrus Peat for the rest of the season due to a pectoral injury, which opens things up for the Bucs’ pass rushers to get after Jameis Winston.

Here are your game day inactives for the Bucs and Saints;

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

CB – Dee Delaney

QB – Kyle Trask

WR – Antonio Brown

DL – Steve McLendon

OL – Nick Leverett

RB – Ke’Shawn Vaughn

New Orleans Saints

QB – Taysom Hill

DE – Payton Turner

RB – Dwayne Washington

QB – Ian Book

DT – Malcom Roach

DE – Jalyn Holmes

Dee Delaney’s absence isn’t great, but with the return of Richard Sherman, the Bucs can absorb the absence a little easier. For the Saints, the loss of Hill takes away some of the trickery and gadget plays Sean Payton likes to run, forcing the ball into Winston’s hands more.

Winston has a 138.0 passer rating at home this season, best for any quarterback in the NFL when playing at home. The Buccaneers will look to get pressure early and often to force Winston into mistakes.

The Bucs and Saints kick off at 4:25 p.m. ET at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The game will be broadcast on FOX with Joe Davis, Troy Aikman, and Erin Andrews on the call.