The Tampa Bay Buccaneers escaped a tough battle last week to open up the 2025 season, besting NFC South foes the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta, and will now get another road test as they look to take advantage of a struggling Houston Texans team on Monday Night Football.
Baker Mayfield, Emeka Egbuka, Bucky Irving, and Mike Evans will look to find leverage against one of the NFL’s most feared defenses, while the defense will look to take advantage of a Texans’ offense that is sputtering due to injuries and lack of depth at skill positions outside of WR Nico Collins.
The Buccaneers roster should have an edge in this matchup, but they made an intriguing move ahead of kickoff against the Texans.
Aug 23, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Tez Johnson (83) Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers needed to make six players inactive for their matchup against the Texans, and while it was known that both Chris Godwin and Tristan Wirfs would be two of the names on the list, the rest were unknown.
Outside of Wirfs and Godwin, Tampa Bay has listed TE Devin Culp, RB Josh Williams, S Rashad Wisdom, and most surprisingly, seventh-round draft pick WR Tez Johnson as inactives. Guard Michael Jordan was elevated from the practice squad and is slated to start at guard on Monday night.
The news comes as a bit of a shocker. Johnson saw his first game action last week against the Falcons, but didn’t muster any production from it. With second-round draft pick Benjamin Morrison set to make his debut, it meant someone would be taking the bench, and that someone ended up being Johnson.
Johnson’s relegation to the sideline for the matchup doesn’t necessarily mean he will be a regular on the list, although it could be due to the nature of the Bucs’ roster and needs weekly. Johnson didn’t have any injury designations this week, so the decision for him being inactive is due to the numbers, making him a healthy scratch from tonight’s matchup.
The Buccaneers should be just fine without Johnson this week, with Kam Johnson manning returning duties on special teams and the depth of the Bucs’ wide receiver room.
On the other sideline, the Texans have made WR Christian Kirk, WR Braxton Berrios, QB Graham Mertz, RB Dameon Pierce, C Jake Andrews and DT Tommy Togiai inactive.
