TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will once again be without wide receiver Antonio Brown when they travel to face the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, coach Bruce Arians said Friday.
“The only person who is out for this game is Antonio Brown,” Arians said. “We’ll have some guys that will go up, work out and see how they’re feeling — possibly have all hands on deck, maybe not have a couple.”
Brown is still dealing with an ankle injury that has kept him from playing and practicing since Week 6. Sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter it would initially be a six-week injury and that returning next week is what doctors originally expected.
The players he’s referring to as far as “wait and see” include inside linebacker Devin White, left guard Ali Marpet, wide receiver Mike Evans and nose tackle Vita Vea.
Of White, arguably one of the Bucs’ best defenders and keys to helping neutralize the NFL’s top rusher, Jonathan Taylor, Arians said, “Very encouraged. He’s one of those guys where we’ll wait and see.”
White suffered a quad injury in the final moments of Monday night’s win over the New York Giants and missed Wednesday’s practice before returning on a limited basis Thursday.
Evans, who captured the Bucs’ franchise record of 72 touchdown catches Monday night, has been dealing with a back injury and missed Wednesday and Thursday practices, but he was on the field with teammates during the portion of Friday’s practice that was open to the media.
“He looked fine,” Arians said.
Vea suffered a sprained MCL at Washington in Week 10 and missed Monday night’s game but was able to practice this week on a limited basis. “He made steady progress,” Arians said. “We’ll see how he is in warm-ups.”
Marpet suffered an abdominal injury Monday night, and while he did not practice Wednesday or Thursday this week, Arians said, “He’ll be a game-time decision.”
On a positive note, tight end Rob Gronkowski, who saw his first real action Monday night since suffering cracked ribs and a punctured lung in Week 3, was a full participant this week and was feeling no residual effects from the injury or playing.
“He’s fine. He had a good week of practice,” Arians said.