Buccaneers Get Great News with Latest Giovani Bernard Injury Update Ahead of NFC Wild Card Game

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' road to back-to-back Super Bowl championships begins this weekend with an NFC Wild Card showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles. Fortunately, Tampa Bay's reinforcements are on the way in the form of Giovani Bernard.

A hip injury that landed Bernard on the injured reserve has held him out of the Buccaneers' lineup since Week 14. It's now looking like the injury is behind him after Tampa Bay activated him from the IR on Saturday, according to NFL insider Tom Pelissero.

Giovani Bernard Injury Update

Bernard's positive update is great news for the Buccaneers. No. 1 running back Leonard Fournette is expected to be a game-time decision for Sunday afternoon as he attempts to make his return, while Ronald Jones has already been ruled out due to injury.

Currently, second-year RB Ke'Shawn Vaughn and veteran rusher Le'Veon Bell are Tampa Bay's only healthy running backs. Considering how the former lacks experience while the latter looks like a shell of his former self, adding at least Bernard to the mix would help things.

Bernard has operated as the Buccaneers' No. 3 running back for a big part of the year, often being used in a change-of-pace role. He's recorded a total of 31 touches this season for 181 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns.

Even if the Buccaneers are short-handed, they're expected to roll past the Eagles. Tampa Bay is currently the 8.5-point home favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

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Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.