TAMPA — Antonio Brown has been a difference maker during a six-game winning streak for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he wasn’t much of a factor in their 30-20 win over the Saints on Sunday.
Brown played only 29 snaps and caught one pass for 10 yards before leaving the game in the second half with a knee injury.
“He’s in MRI right now,” Coach Bruce Arians said Monday afternoon, adding that the Bucs hope to know more later in the day.
With Brown out, the Bucs got huge receptions from rookie Tyler Johnson and Scotty Miller. Johnson converted a third-and-11 situation with a twisting, back-shoulder reception, his 12th of the season. Miller hauled in a 29-yard pass from Tom Brady with Brown on the bench.
Sunday at Green Bay would be Brown’s third conference title game. He had had one catch for 14 yards in a win over the Jets in 2011 and seven receptions for 77 yards in a loss to Tom Brady and the Patriots in 2017.
• The Bucs will designate defensive tackle Vita Vea for return from injured reserve with the expectation that one of the league’s best run stoppers will be available against the Packers.
The 6-foot-4, 347-pound Vea, who broke his ankle in a 20-19 loss to the Bears on Oct. 8, will practice Wednesday and the Bucs believe there’s a very good chance he could play in Sunday’s game at Green Bay. Vea, 25, was emerging as one of the NFL’s most dominate defensive tackles and had become a force in the Bucs’ pass rush as well as an anchor in their run defense. He has teamed with Ndamukong Suh the past two seasons to give the Bucs’ two of the league’s most dominant defensive tackles.
THE NFL WILL NOT allow in-person workouts for the scouting combine due to health and safety precautions because of COVID-19. The league informed teams Monday that any workouts will take place on the individual pro days on college campuses. Interviews of prospects and psychological testing and assessments will be done virtually.
“We will work with the schools to encourage consistency in testing and drills across pro days and ensure that all clubs have access to video from those workouts, irrespective of whether the club is represented at a particular workout,” the NFL told teams in a memo obtained by The Associated Press.
The league is working with club physicians and athletic trainers to obtain comprehensive medical information on each of the invited prospects. The plan will likely involve a combination of virtual interviews by club medical staffs and testing done at labs and medical facilities near the invited prospect’s residence.
An in-person examination will take place at one or more designated locations, likely in early April, for a certain number of prospects. Each team will be permitted to send one physician and one athletic trainer to conduct these in-person exams.
49ERS: San Francisco promoted linebackers coach DeMeco Ryans to defensive coordinator and run game coordinator Mike McDaniel to offensive coordinator on Monday to fill openings on the staff after Robert Saleh left to take over as head coach for the New York Jets.
Saleh was hired by the Jets after a four-year run as defensive coordinator in San Francisco and brought passing game coordinator Mike LaFleur with him as offensive coordinator.
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