Todd Bowles Stands Up For Emeka Egbuka
December 8th, 2025
Coach has his back.
Bucs fans who just a few weeks ago were doing backflips over Emeka Egbuka are now collecting rocks, just in case.
Like the rest of the Bucs’ offense, Egbuka has had an awful November which has carried into December. Just the opposite of how you want players and a team to be playing.
Joe has even seen social media posts and comments on this here corner of the interwebs referring to Egbuka as “Michael Clayton II.”
Clayton was a star rookie for the Bucs who never improved. In fact, after his rookie season, he regressed terribly.
(It is still laughable to Joe on the same level as it being a highlight of a Chris Rock or Sam Kinison routine that former Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik gifted Clayton a massive contract extension specifically because he could block! Not a guard, not a tackle, not a center, but a receiver! What a country!)
Yesterday, Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield, perhaps sensing a lot of hate was going to come Egbuka’s way, stood up for his rookie receiver.
Today, it was Todd Bowles’ turn.
Bowles waved off the question about Egbuka. While admitting Egbuka’s going through a tough patch, he will be fine, Bowles said.
“Just getting some quick throws early, get him some easy catches and try to get him in the groove and get him in the rhythm,” Bowles said of the best way to guide Egbuka through the yips. “He’s got to get himself in a rhythm as well.
“We trust him completely. He’s a great player for us. So when you’re great players drop the ball, you just got to live with it.”
Bowles said no one is angrier about the dropped passes more than Egbuka.
“But you know, he’s hard on himself,” Bowles said. “He’ll come back from that, and he’ll play better.”
Joe just knows that even the great Jerry Rice had trouble catching a cold as a rookie. He got over it.
(No, Joe is not comparing Egbuka to Rice. Joe is only referencing that even the very best have cases of the dropsies, too.)
Emeka Egbuka with an amazing route to get wide open.
You can see him running towards the EZ alongside the numbers, but the throw takes him in the direction of the back pylon.
So Emeka, at full speed, has to flip his hips and square up to the ball in mid-air.
Should have been… pic.twitter.com/edpPPqa4YM
— Evan Closky (@ECloskyWTSP) December 8, 2025
December 8th, 2025 at 3:30 pm
Again, e2 has to catch the ball – he got 2 hands on it, he needs to come down with it… And again, if Baker throws a better ball, on a wet and rainy day, then it’s a much easier catch.
I am surprised that Baker didn’t say the last part about if he throws a better ball it’s an easy catch. Regardless of if QBs mean it or not, that’s what they always say. Baker instead giving the ‘you’ll do better next time’ message is surprising. And no, I’m not criticizing Baker. I wonder if it’s not as much of a show as support as you’d think and more of a kick in the pants by what he didn’t say? Maybe it’s the correct message. I hope so.
Anyways, time is running out for Baker to heat up. Got 4 games left, the Bucs HAVE to beat the Panthers twice, then win vs the Falcons or Dolphins, and they are in with no help. For that to happen, Baker has to play better. Lets hope he catches fire.
December 8th, 2025 at 3:34 pm
Whether he catches it or not our offense sucks. So there’s that.
December 8th, 2025 at 3:36 pm
EE, Godwin, Otten can’t catch a pass in clutch time if their lives depended on it. And the defense!!! What a pathetic team in all phases. Clean house including the hapless GM.
December 8th, 2025 at 3:38 pm
Hes a rookie. Wait a couple years to decide if hes good or not.
December 8th, 2025 at 3:41 pm
Just what the rookie needs is the dead man walking HC/DC vouching for him.
December 8th, 2025 at 3:42 pm
We got some of the most idiotic fans in sports. Apparently we forgot how many wide arse open passes hall of fame wide receiver Mike Evans has dropped. F’ing back up off E2. He made a spectacular one handed highlight worthy catch before but now he got haters really?
December 8th, 2025 at 3:49 pm
Bro’s got feet for hands.
December 8th, 2025 at 3:49 pm
OK that is an excuse for EE, what is Bowles excuse for his Defense.
December 8th, 2025 at 3:51 pm
lol…even if he catches the ball, the defense wouldve gave up the booty anyways!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
December 8th, 2025 at 3:51 pm
Is he so fragile that he can’t handle the tiny bit of criticism he has gotten?
I remember when Brady stopped throwing the ball to Mike Evans for a few games because he had dropped a few balls!
The softness is reflected in the W-L this year.
I watched 2 teams last night KC-Houston play GREAT FOOTBALL in every aspect and they basically the same record as the Bucs.
December 8th, 2025 at 3:53 pm
The o-line has to give Baker time to throw. Mixing up the play calling also helps.
December 8th, 2025 at 4:04 pm
He’ll be fine. He’s to talented it happens. Sucks obviously but EE still a baller and super young
December 8th, 2025 at 4:25 pm
We need to draft another explosive offensive weapon maybe in the first round and then load up on defensive players
December 8th, 2025 at 4:30 pm
EE has gone from snagging them 1-handed to less than 50/50 when they got him in the hands. His head is messed up
December 8th, 2025 at 4:39 pm
Joe,
In regard to rookie seasons, Michael Clayton was actually way better than Egbuka is right now. Light years better, in fact.
December 8th, 2025 at 5:02 pm
It isn’t Ebuka it’s Bowel’s responsibility to keep this team prepared. They haven’t been the same since Seattle!!
December 8th, 2025 at 5:06 pm
What in the F…..has happened to our passing game……3 & 4 yard passes……surely we can do better than that….
December 8th, 2025 at 5:16 pm
Rod Munch Says:
December 8th, 2025 at 3:30 pm
“Again, e2 has to catch the ball – he got 2 hands on it, he needs to come down with it… And again, if Baker throws a better ball, on a wet and rainy day, then it’s a much easier catch.
I am surprised that Baker didn’t say the last part about if he throws a better ball it’s an easy catch. Regardless of if QBs mean it or not, that’s what they always say. Baker instead giving the ‘you’ll do better next time’ message is surprising. And no, I’m not criticizing Baker. I wonder if it’s not as much of a show as support as you’d think and more of a kick in the pants by what he didn’t say? Maybe it’s the correct message. I hope so.
Anyways, time is running out for Baker to heat up. Got 4 games left, the Bucs HAVE to beat the Panthers twice, then win vs the Falcons or Dolphins, and they are in with no help. For that to happen, Baker has to play better. Lets hope he catches fire”.
I’m hoping Teddy starts on Thursday and the rest of the season so you can go fly a kite.
December 8th, 2025 at 5:40 pm
“You can see him running towards the EZ alongside the numbers, but the throw takes him in the direction of the back pylon.“
Woof.
Again, flip of the hips, stop on a dime, then sky for the ball. Effort was there, yes he got his hands on the ball, but defying physics is a tall task for any mere mortal.
An aside:
Did JPP really work out for us today? Man wants that 100 career sacks BAD. I think he’s about 5-6 away, without checking
December 8th, 2025 at 5:55 pm
JPP as just signed to the practice squad!!!
Dude is 36 years old…
Definitely wants to play for the love of the game…
December 8th, 2025 at 5:57 pm
If JPP has any juice left, he’ll lay it all out there!
December 8th, 2025 at 6:01 pm
I’m floored… Bowles/Licht throwing the hail Mary for the defense.
December 8th, 2025 at 6:03 pm
LMFAO!
Bowles thinks AARP JPP is gonna save his job 🤣😂🤣😂
December 8th, 2025 at 6:08 pm
Good lord, name a receiver that doesn’t ever drop balls. We’ve seen Godwin drop TDs, Evans has dropped his fair share. Bothe Cee Dee Lamb and Pickens have had drops of TDs as of late.
There isn’t a person on the planet that has had to catch their fair share of balls – ANY kind of balls (basketball, baseball, football) – that hasn;t upon occasion dropped a few.
It sucks for us fans and it surely sucks for those who drop the passes. They feel they have let the team down, the fans down, their parents down, themselves down.
Now if it becomes an ongoing situation that lasts for years, it’s quite another thing. Could just be the rookie wall.
What I am most concerned with is the “urgency” and attitude that the whole team seemed to feel at the beginning of the season when they stewed all offseason about the season that got away. They seem to have lost that edge as the season has worn on. They have forgotten that never say die, never give an inch attitude that they started the season with.
December 8th, 2025 at 6:12 pm
Why not JPP….nobody else is getting to the passer
December 8th, 2025 at 6:16 pm
At least JPP will add heart and passion to this sad defense.
Sign Shaq too now and run it back
December 8th, 2025 at 6:23 pm
so many passed mike evans’s would have caught
December 8th, 2025 at 6:29 pm
We signed JPP!!!!!!
Yea I called that just sayin
December 8th, 2025 at 6:32 pm
We need an Alpha leader- As I listened to the podcast, I couldn’t help but think we needed a Brady, JPP, Suh type. This team can play when they’re all firing properly at once.
December 8th, 2025 at 6:33 pm
Yeah sign Shaq and Suh too.
December 8th, 2025 at 6:34 pm
holy sh!t
jpp just signed with the bucs…
he has been signed to straight up whoop some azz in the locker room…!
whrn jpp heads to the showers all rooks better bsil out…unless you want that jailhouse jam sandwich
December 8th, 2025 at 6:35 pm
when jpp heads to the showers all rooks better bail out…unless you want that jailhouse jam sandwich ***
December 8th, 2025 at 6:37 pm
jpp………..dude with a tude…….!!
December 8th, 2025 at 6:38 pm
This team will lose every game from here out. I already called the Saints loss and everyone laughed at me. This team has no fire
December 8th, 2025 at 6:46 pm
I watch a lot of everything on YouTube including the Bucs and the NFL in general. It occurred to me tonight that nobody is talking about the Bucs and yesterdays performance.. then it occurred to me that it’s not really a news story outside of Gobberville and that the national talking heads knew that the Bucs were not in the 2025 good teams conversation
December 8th, 2025 at 6:51 pm
He told him, “Don’t worry about it, we wouldn’t have stopped them anyway.”
December 8th, 2025 at 7:07 pm
I am not too worried about Ameka Egbuka. I recall when Mike Evans went through his phase of dropping the ball. Egbuka has a lot of talent but he is a rookie nevertheless.
I think it is great that the Bucs have reached out to JPP. Let’s see if he can help us. The Haason Reddick try seems to have failed.
Go Bucs!!
December 8th, 2025 at 7:08 pm
Emeka Egbuka …
December 8th, 2025 at 7:50 pm
e2 will be fine.
Again, a poorly thrown ball on a wet and rainy day, yes, e2 as a 1st rounder needs to catch that ball if he can get two hands on it – but people are acting like it’s an easy routine catch – it wasn’t, and it wasn’t because Baker threw a bad pass. Still, Baker got it in the zip code, and the drop is on EE, but it doesn’t mean it’s a trend.
A trend however is Baker missing e2 when he was wide open vs the Rams and Baker missed him by a mile. Yesterday, again, e2 is wide open, Baker has time, isn’t rushed, is an easy pass that Baker made into a hard reception.
If Baker is better, everyone else will be better. Baker has 4 games left, lets see if he can step it up. I will say in 2023, Baker with 5 games left, Baker had another dud of a game as part of his midseason slump, only throwing for 144 yards vs the Falcons, which came off a long string of dud games – then, out of the blue, with 4 games left, he snapped out of it, had a big game vs the Packers, then followed it up with one of his best games as a Buc vs the Jags (then he played awful the following week vs the Saints, and perhaps his worst game as a Buc @Carolina – but lets just get to the good part before we worry about the regression).
December 8th, 2025 at 7:55 pm
EE is Mr. Butterfingers until he proves me wrong. The has been dropping passes a lot.
December 8th, 2025 at 7:57 pm
After Egbuka has taken a few NFL hits and has seen McMillan and Evans get injured, he has developed alligator arms and flinches if he thinks he might take a hit. I can’t possibly be the only one who has noticed.
December 8th, 2025 at 9:19 pm
It’s not about just catching the ball, he’s not a true x receiver… He’s a Chris Godwin , i.e. the best a #2 can possibly get. He’s a great replacement for Chris. But we still need to replace Mike.
December 8th, 2025 at 9:33 pm
Do the Bucs have any gas left in their tank? Is their any positive team stat that they are even top 20 in the league? Doubtful. They look slow and disorganized. Just not a very physically strong or athletic team.
December 8th, 2025 at 10:16 pm
I remember a stretch of time when Godwin was unable to catch a ball. Back in the Brady era. It seemed like it would never come to an end. Evans has problems with drops often. Egbuka is a great player, person and will overcome this on his own time. We not gonna make the playoffs with or without Egbuka. If we do then we aint gonna win the 1st round–simple as that–we that bad.
December 8th, 2025 at 10:19 pm
The only decent game this season was the shootout at the Seahawks.
December 8th, 2025 at 10:52 pm
PriMech54 Says:
December 8th, 2025 at 9:19 pm
It’s not about just catching the ball, he’s not a true x receiver… He’s a Chris Godwin , i.e. the best a #2 can possibly get. He’s a great replacement for Chris. But we still need to replace Mike.
————-
Sure, just go find another HOF WR to replace the current one. Easy enough.
December 8th, 2025 at 11:05 pm
@Rod Munch
No one said it was easy. Hell, the fact that we technically drafted a potential superstar future franchise cornerstone at receiver and he’s STILL not Mike Evans is evidence enough to what you’re saying.