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Lions-Bucs injury updates already have both teams getting hit hard in key areas ahead of Monday Night showdown

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Mike Payton | Last updated Oct 14, 2025 5:24 PM ET

It's Week 7 and the Detroit Lions are set to host the NFC-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home on Monday Night Football.

It's set up to be one of the best matchups of the year as both squads look to strengthen their grip in the conference and earn a very important head-to-head win that could easily affect either team's playoff seeding down the line.

So, before practice begins on Thursday, we figured it'd be a good idea to give an overall injury rundown for both teams. A) Because both the Bucs and Lions have a lot of key injuries worth talking about and B) it's always good to know this stuff in general and for stuff like fantasy purposes and whatnot.

Let's dive in.

Lions secondary and Bucs receivers are reeling heading into Week 7

Mike: The Lions are going to be without starting corners Terrion Arnold and D.J. Reed, along with Avonte Maddox in this game. Arnold and Maddox are expected to be back after the Lions' Week 8 bye week. Reed could potentially be back in November as well.

This leaves the Lions moving Amik Robertson from the slot to the outside, and then Rock Ya-Sin takes up the other starting spot. From there, the Lions will again be forced to go with veteran corner Arthur Maulet in the slot. He's only been in Detroit for a week a this point. It won't be a shocker if they go out and sign someone new.

At safety, the Lions will be without starting safety Brian Branch due to his suspension, and there are concerns with Kerby Joseph's knee injury and whether or not he can play through it. His game against the Chiefs was maybe one of his worst performances in a while, and it's because he was hampered. Lions head coach Dan Campbell said the Lions plan to reassess his injury this week. We'll see where that goes.

On the offensive side of the ball, Taylor Decker has missed the last two games, and right now it's a waiting game to see if he can return to practice this week. If he can't, the Lions will rely on long-time backup Dan Skipper in that spot again.

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Evan: The Bucs have been torn apart by injuries this year, yet somehow they keeping winning games and they just beat two teams that have a combined 8-4 record in the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers.

There's a very good chance the Bucs are down not one, not two, not three, but their topfour wide receivers when things kick off Monday night. There is some hope Mike Evans returns, but that remains to be seen. Emeka Egbuka was the latest WR to get bit by the injury bug thanks to a hamstring injury that cropped up during the Week 6 win over the 9ers. WRs Chris Godwin Jr. and Jalen McMillan, along with RB Bucky Irving, have all been ruled out already.

If Evans and/or Egbuka can't go, the top wideouts will be Sterling Shepard, Tez Johnson, Kameron Johnson, and Ryan Miller. The Bucs could also call up Dennis Houston and/or Garrett Greene from the practice squad, as well.

The right guard position is something to monitor, too. Luke Haggard, who started the last four games, was listed as doubtful by Todd Bowles when he spoke with reporters on Monday. There's a chance veteran Mike Jordan returns, but like Evans, that's currently unknown and up in the air. If neither can go, look for second-year player Elijah Klein to be the next man up.

On defense, Calijah Kancey is out for the year. Starting corner Zyon McCollum has a chance to return to the lineup after missing last week, but it's unclear as to whether or not second-round rookie Benjamin Morrison comes back. He's been rotating with Jamel Dean when healthy. There's also do-it-all defensive back Christian Izien's status to monitor, although third-round rookie Jacob Parrish has been playing well in his stead.

The defense is having way less injury issues than the offense. It'll be interesting to see just how Baker Mayfield and Co. perform on Monday if things play out the way it looks.

Thursday is when both teams practice for the first time, so that's when we'll get the first look at each injury report. We'll be sure to cover those updates once they come in.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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