Barrett, Diaby on Bucs’ injury report
TAMPA — The Bucs have a short week to get ready for the Lions following Monday night’s wild-card win over the Eagles. That also means less time for players to recover physically.
Outside linebackers Shaquil Barrett and Yaya Diaby joined running back Chase Edmonds, wide receiver Chris Godwin and quarterback Baker Mayfield on Wednesday’s injury report. It was the first of the week ahead of Sunday afternoon’s division-round game in Detroit.
Mayfield, who has been dealing with ankle and rib injuries, said he was “a little sore” but was a full participant.
“Quick Wednesday turnaround, but walk-through,” Mayfield said. “We’ve been on a good schedule. It’s just like everybody else — just recovering and getting into the game plan. Do the mental work and get your body ready.”
The other players on the list — Barrett (ankle), Diaby (shoulder), Edmonds (toe) and Godwin (knee) — did not participate.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Bucs head coach Todd Bowles has seen Lions counterpart Dan Campbell’s intensity up close. Bowles was an assistant coach and Campbell a tight end on the 2005 Cowboys. The two later worked together on the Dolphins staff in 2010-11.
Bowles said he has nothing but admiration and respect for Campbell as a coach and a person.
“He is an outstanding coach, a very fiery guy, extremely intelligent, extremely loyal. He’ll do anything for his team,” Bowles said. “We are very good friends to this day. I’ve got a lot of respect for him on and off the field. As good of a coach as he is, he’s a better guy off
the field.”
Britt: Lions QB is ‘one of the best’
Linebacker K.J. Britt and the defense have played well during this must-win stretch that got the Bucs into the playoffs and to the division round. Britt knows they will have their hands full with the Lions offense this week.
“Jared Goff is a really good quarterback,” Britt said. “We’ve just got to make sure we get in our throwing windows, make sure we’re taking away what he’s really good at. He knows what he’s good at. We’re trying to make sure that we’ve got to limit him, because he’s a really good quarterback — one of the best I’ve seen on film.”
On the other side of the ball, Mayfield said he reached out to former Rams teammates for a scouting report on the Lions defense. Los Angeles lost to Detroit in the wild-card round.
“Talking to them about what exactly their game plan of attack was, but mostly environment stuff of what kind of atmosphere it was,” Mayfield said. “They said it was an unbelievable one, so we’re expecting the same thing, obviously, in the next round.”
Road warriors
The Bucs were slightly better on the road (5-4) than at home (4-4) during the regular season, though they did beat the Eagles last week at Raymond James Stadium.
That made sense to Mayfield.
“I think road games kind of fit the mold and our identity of this team — backs against the wall in a different environment and only counting on each other,” he said. “I think it just fits who we are.”
It feeds the Bucs’ “us-against-the-world,” mentality Bowles said.
“We’ve had that all year long. This is nothing new,” he said. “Every time we go on the road, we feel like we’re by ourselves and we’ve got nothing to prove but to ourselves. Our narrative is the one we write. We’ve been going by that mantra since we started the season. This is no different.
”Although it’s a big game, the minute you stop doing the little things you’re going to make the mistakes and you’re going to end up losing the ballgame.”