With the return of Calijah Kancey and Luke Goedeke - as well as the potential return of Antoine Winfield Jr., the Buccaneers have a lot to be optimistic about heading into this weekend’s matchup with the New Orleans Saints. Unfortunately, it’s not all sunshine and roses.

Graham Barton and Christian Izien are both ruled out - as are wide receivers Kameron Johnson and Trey Palmer - while Rachaad White is doubtful after missing the last two practices with a foot injury. So just as the Bucs thought they were getting healthy, they lose more starters at key positions.

That said, the Saints are dealing with some injuries of their own as they’ll be without starting guard Cesar Ruiz as well as starters Will Harris, Pete Werner, Taysom Hill, and most notably quarterback Derek Carr. Their starting center, Lucas Patrick, missed practice all week and is questionable - meaning Spencer Rattler could be starting against a newly healthy Bucs defensive line with two backups along the interior of his offensive line.

Rattler, a fifth-round pick, was impressive in preseason but will see his first NFL action. With Todd Bowles getting Kancey and potentially Winfield Jr. back, he will have plenty of tricks up his sleeve against the third rookie quarterback the Bucs have faced this season. Rattler is more of an athlete than Carr, being able to buy time and make plays with his legs which creates some difficulties for the Bucs’ defense, though they certainly did well against Jayden Daniels and Jalen Hurts this season when facing similar issues.

In their last meeting, it was tight end Juwan Johnson that had a career day with 90 yards and a touchdown, so he will be back to create some mismatch issues against K.J. Britt who struggled in pass coverage against the Falcons last week. Alvin Kamara will also see a heavy workload out of the backfield both as a runner and as the safety valve for Rattler to dump the ball off when he’s in trouble.

Baker Mayfield looks to keep his hot start going as he’s second in the NFL in touchdown passes while top five in passer rating and completion percentage while holding a 5.5:1 touchdown to interception ratio on the season. He struggled against the Saints last season, turning the ball over three times in two games, accounting for 30% of his interceptions for the entire 2023 season. He’s going to look to Chris Godwin and Cade Otton in this one.

The Saints are 22nd ranked defense against the tight end this season and Cade Otton has seen a huge jump in usage the last three games. Otton could be the key to extending drives and maintaining possession in this one.

The Saints lead the all-time series 40-25 with the Bucs having won four of the last ten matchups with three of those wins coming in the last two seasons. That said, the Bucs have won three of the last four in New Orleans, including the playoffs. 

The Buccaneers are 3.5-point favorites with a 42 point over/under on the road this week where the Bucs look to move to 2-1 against the Saints in the Mayfield era.

Bucs (3-2) @ Saints (2-3) Game Information

‍When: Sunday, October 13th 2024

‍‍Where: Caesars Superdome (New Orleans, LA)

‍‍Kickoff: 1:00 p.m. ET

‍‍TV: FOX - Adam Amin (Play-by-Play), Greg Olsen (Color), Pam Oliver (Sideline Reporter)

‍Bucs Radio: 98Rock – Gene Deckerhoff (Play by Play), Dave Moore (Color), T.J. Rives (Reporter)

‍Spanish Radio: 96.1 Caliente – Carlos Bohorquez (Play by Play), Martín Gramática (Analyst), Santiago Gramatica (Sideline Reporter)