The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have activated offensive lineman Luke Goedeke off of injured reserve ahead of the Bucs week 10 matchup against the New England Patriots. Goedeke has been on IR since week two when he sustained a foot injury that kept him out for almost two months.
Goedeke was a limited participant in Tampa’s Wednesday and Thursday practices, before being elevated to a full participant Friday and seems to have no restrictions placed on his snap count. He will start for the Bucs when they take on New England.
The already strong Bucs offensive line will be reinforced by Goedeke’s activation. The only other outstanding injury on the O-line was to Luke Haggard, who is dealing with a shoulder injury. Haggard was a full participant in practice all week, a good sign that he’ll be good to go for game time, giving Tampa a fully healthy line.
Goedeke has been a stalwart on the Buccaneers offensive line, starting all 30 games he was healthy for in the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
Bucs O-Line Vs. Patriots Pass Rush
The now revitalized Tampa Bay offensive line will be up against a middling New England Patriots pass rush in week 10. New England ranks towards the bottom of the NFL in team sacks, with just 20 through nine weeks. Leading the way for the Patriots pass rush has been linebackers Harold Landry and K’Lavon Chaisson, who each have 5.5 sacks on the season.
Despite their limited sack number, New England has been effective in limiting quarterbacks with a solid pressure rate. They held Josh Allen in check back in week five in a 23-20 victory, and have held opponents to 20 or less points in six of their nine games.
Keeping Baker Mayfield protected will be a huge key in this matchup, as he’ll need time to run through his progressions. Patriots star CB Christian Gonzalez will likely be on Emeka Egbuka all day, meaning Mayfield may have to look elsewhere on many of his passes as Gonzalez is one of the best pass defenders in the league.
Mayfield Looks to Get Back Into MVP Conversation
After plenty of hype through the first month of the season, the “Baker Mayfield for MVP” conversation has quieted down in recent weeks. Underwhelming games against Detroit and New Orleans before the bye week took Mayfield out of the MVP conversation, but a heavyweight matchup against another MVP contender in Drake Maye could be Mayfield’s opportunity to play himself back into the conversation.
Mayfield currently has the sixth best odds to win MVP at +1700. He trails Maye, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Matthew Stafford and Sam Darnold.
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