Bucs Week 9 snap counts reveal changes at receiver and safety
· Yahoo Sports
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made noticeable offensive personnel adjustments in Sunday's 27-24 loss to the Chicago Bears, with rookie wide receiver Ted Hurst III nearly disappearing from the rotation as Tez Johnson took on a much larger role.
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According to the official NFL gamebook, Tampa Bay played 68 offensive snaps and 61 defensive snaps. The participation totals reveal how the Buccaneers distributed playing time following Emeka Egbuka's return, while also showing a heavier workload for Bucky Irving and changes in the secondary after Antoine Winfield Jr. suffered an injury.
Ted Hurst III plays one snap as Tez Johnson takes larger role
Hurst's reduction in playing time was the most dramatic development among Tampa Bay's offensive skill players. After playing 42% of the offensive snaps against Atlanta in Week 8, the rookie appeared on just one of 68 plays against Chicago, accounting for 1% of the offense.
He got one target without a reception, and the Buccaneers relied on a different combination of receivers for the rest of the game.
Chris Godwin led the position group with 62 snaps (91%), followed by Johnson with 54 (79%) and Egbuka with 52 (76%). Johnson's participation increased by 37 percentage points from the previous game, when he played 42% of the offensive snaps.
The extra playing time led to a meaningful contribution. Johnson caught two passes for a team-high 76 receiving yards, including a 58-yard completion from Baker Mayfield on Tampa Bay's opening second-half possession. That reception advanced the ball to Chicago's 2-yard line and helped set up Irving's first touchdown.
Egbuka returned after missing the previous two games and caught three passes for 38 yards on five targets. His availability gave Tampa Bay another established receiving option, but Johnson's increased involvement and Hurst's near-total absence suggest a bigger adjustment to the rotation than simply reinserting Egbuka.
The snap counts show who got the opportunities, but they don't explain the coaching staff's reasoning for reducing Hurst's role.
Bucky Irving handles larger share of backfield
Irving played 47 offensive snaps (69%), up 19 percentage points from his previous appearance. Kenny Gainwell played 26 snaps (38%), down 12 percentage points.
The two running backs combined for 73 player snaps across Tampa Bay's 68 offensive plays, indicating they shared the field on at least five snaps rather than operating exclusively as substitutes for one another.
Irving handled the majority of the rushing production, finishing with 20 carries for 97 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught four passes for 28 yards, giving him 125 yards from scrimmage.
His touchdowns came on two- and six-yard runs, with the second score helping Tampa Bay tie the game at 24 late in the fourth quarter after Mayfield's successful two-point conversion.
Gainwell remained productive in a complementary role despite his reduced playing time. He finished with five carries for 16 yards and three receptions for 60 yards, including a 44-yard completion on third-and-nine during the first quarter.
The distribution reflects Irving's larger share of the rushing workload without eliminating Gainwell's involvement as a receiving option.
Cade Otton plays every offensive snap
Tight end Cade Otton played all 68 offensive snaps, joining Mayfield and Tampa Bay's five starting offensive linemen as the only offensive players to participate in every play.
Otton finished with four receptions for 25 yards on eight targets, making him one of Mayfield's most-targeted receivers despite the limited yardage.
The remaining tight ends played considerably smaller roles. Payne Durham appeared on 14 snaps (21%), Bauer Sharp played eight (12%), and Ko Kieft participated in one offensive snap.
Otton's full-game workload shows how heavily Tampa Bay relied on him, especially compared with the other tight ends' limited offensive participation.
Winfield's injury forces adjustment in secondary
The biggest defensive personnel change came after Winfield suffered an injury in the second quarter.
Winfield played 29 defensive snaps (48%) before leaving the game, while Ifeatu Melifonwu appeared on 30 snaps (49%). The official gamebook later listed Winfield as out, confirming his absence through the rest of the contest.
Tykee Smith played all 61 defensive snaps, as did cornerbacks Zyon McCollum and Jacob Parrish and linebacker Alex Anzalone.
Melifonwu's increased involvement became particularly important late in the game. Chicago completed a 38-yard pass to tight end Colston Loveland on its final possession, with Melifonwu credited as the defender. The completion moved the Bears into field-goal range before Cairo Santos made the winning kick.
The snap distribution shows how Tampa Bay adjusted after losing Winfield, although the participation totals alone cannot establish every coverage responsibility or substitution decision.
Josiah Trotter remains a defensive fixture
Rookie linebacker Josiah Trotter played 59 of Tampa Bay's 61 defensive snaps (97%), continuing to handle one of the defense's largest workloads.
Along the defensive front, Calijah Kancey led the interior rotation with 45 snaps (74%), followed closely by Vita Vea with 44 (72%).
Keionte Scott played 39 defensive snaps (64%), while rookie edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. appeared on 35 (57%). Anthony Nelson contributed 31 snaps (51%), with David Walker and Al-Quadin Muhammad each playing 28 (46%).
The distribution matters because YaYa Diaby was inactive against Chicago, leaving Tampa Bay to manage its edge-rushing rotation without one of its regular contributors.
Bain remained involved on more than half of the defensive plays, while Nelson, Walker and Muhammad shared the remaining workload.
Tampa Bay's defense forced five turnovers, including four interceptions of Caleb Williams, but the Buccaneers couldn't turn those opportunities into a win.
The Week 9 participation figures reveal two different personnel developments. On offense, Tampa Bay concentrated its receiving snaps among Godwin, Johnson and Egbuka while giving Irving a larger share of the backfield. Defensively, Winfield's injury required a safety adjustment, with Melifonwu taking on more responsibility in a game ultimately decided by Chicago's final possession.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Bucs Week 9 snap counts reveal changes at receiver and safety