Team news: Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Page 72

Giants Inactives
Odell Beckham WR
Davis Webb QB
Tavarres King WR
Wayne Gallman RB
Keenan Robinson LB
D.J. Fluker OL
Matt LaCosse TE

Related players: Sterling Shepard

We had a report earlier today that didn't give much of a chance of Beckham being active tonight. As we stated, Shepard should move in and play as the team's WR2 and at least provide a nice fill-in option for Beckham owners.

Odell Beckham will fly with the Giants to Dallas today. After that, expect him to be a game-time decision.

Related Players: Brandon Marshall, Sterling Shepard

It's a good sign that Beckham is at least travelling with the team. So, there's a chance he'll play. However, with the game being Sunday night, fantasy owners need to be ready with a back-up plan if Beckham doesn't play, among players on the Giants, Cowboys, Vikings and Saints. Put Beckham in your flex to also give you options at RB and TE. Some possible last-minute options could be: Cole Beasley, Shane Vereen (PPR), Coby Fleener or Evan Engram.

The NFL officially postponed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Miami Dolphins tilt until Week 11.

With Hurricane Irma gaining steam as it moves toward South Florida, the league announced the matchup will be moved from Sunday to Sunday, Nov. 19. Both the Bucs and Dolphins had a bye in Week 11.

The news means that Miami and Tampa will play 16 straight games to close out the season.

Related players: Jameis Winston, Mike Evans, Doug Martin, Jacquizz Rodgers, DeSean Jackson, Cameron Brate, Nick Folk, Jay Cutler, Jay Ajayi, DeVante Parker, Jarvis Landry, Kenny Stills, Julius Thomas

Setting aside the danger of a Category 5 hurricane barreling down on Florida, the fantasy ramifications of the move to Week 11 are significant. Owners counting on any of the Bucs or Dolphins to play in Week 1 are going to have to look elsewhere. These issues show up most often in "onesie" positions like quarterback, tight end, kicker or defense, where owners oftentimes don't have other options available on the bench. Jameis Winston owners could pick up Carson Palmer, Sam Bradford, Carson Wentz or another quarterback with a good matchup to start Week 1. In addition, Doug Martin won't start his suspension until Week 2 and is therefore not eligible to return until Week 5. It's our opinion that owners with these types of issues who play in leagues without waivers/free agency prior to Week 1 should be allowed to make one waiver move per issue to pick up a replacement quarterback, tight end, defense or kicker. This should not be used as a way to pick up a hot running back or receiver prospect, but instead to ensure fairness in what is a very out-of-the-blue situation.

Giants wideout Odell Beckham left Monday night's game after taking a hard shot directly to his left knee, but did not sustain any serious injuries.

The team's top offensive weapon was drilled by Browns corner Briean Boddy-Calhoun as he came down from nabbing a high pass in the second quarter. Beckham spun his helmet in frustration but walked off the field under his own power. After trotting into the tunnel en route to the locker room, a television camera caught Beckham on his knees rocking back and forth in pain.

ESPN reported during the broadcast that Beckham was being evaluated for both a concussion and an ankle injury, but that Beckham was cleared of any concussion symptoms.

The Giants said officially that Beckham sustained a sprained ankle. X-ray results came back negative and the team says that Beckham will undergo further examination.

In other news, Brandon Marshall underwent an X-ray on his shoulder.

Related players: Sterling Shepard

The Giants will probably put Beckham on ice for the remainder of the preseason, though we should have an idea of how his ankle is progressing based on his practice participation. Given Marshall's apparent shoulder injury, Sterling Shepard might deserve to be bumped up a few spots in the receiver rankings.

Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter believes his quarterback Jameis Winston is poised to make big strides in 2017.

"You can't argue with how Jameis has done," Koetter said. "He threw a beautiful deep one to Mike Evans in the game the other night, so I think Jameis improved across the board."

Related players: DeSean Jackson

The numbers suggest it. His completion percentage compared to last preseason has shot up from 59 percent to over 71 percent in 2017. The story added there are two areas where Winston wants to improve: execution on the deep ball and the red zone.

Sterling Shepard was looked at on sideline. He's in serious pain. Taken off on cart. Apparently in tears. Not good.

Related players: Odell Beckham, Brandon Marshall, Roger Lewis

Update: Mike Garafolo tweeted, "Early for Giants WR Sterling Shepard but the team is hopeful it's just a bad roll of his ankle. Stay tuned."

Shepard is slated for WR3 duties behind Odell Beckham and Brandon Marshall, but his season may be in jeopardy based on this report. We'll have more details as they emerge. Roger Lewis played the most snaps (24%) of the remaining Giant receivers last year.

A two-TE offense is a great set for a rushing attempt, but it can be deceptive and dangerous if it's used to pass the ball.

That's particularly true if both tight ends on the field are capable of running great routes and blocking defensive ends. That's the exact scouting report on Buccaneers TE O.J. Howard, which was why he was a first-round pick. Cameron Brate, who didn't block much in college, is improving in the second category but is obviously a threat in the passing game already.

Related players: Mike Evans

Keep in mind this is the Bucs website, but the writer brought up the redzone, where Brate caught all eight of his TDs last season. Howard will likely steal some of those targets, as will WR Mike Evans. As a result, both Brate (31st) and Howard (26th), right now, don't crack our top-25 in TE ranking.