Buccaneers Likely Facing Final Game Without Injured $52 Million All-Pro WR

Getty Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans.

If you’re looking for the moment where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers season went off the rails, you don’t have to be Sam Spade to realize it was a Week 7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens where they lost 2 of the NFL’s best wide receivers in a couple of hours — Chris Godwin to a season-ending dislocated ankle and Mike Evans to a hamstring injury.

The Buccaneers haven’t won since the duo got hurt  — 3 consecutive losses to drop to 4-5, including a heartbreaking overtime loss at the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 9.

Now, with their season teetering on the brink, ESPN’s Jenna Laine is reporting that  Evans will likely be back in the lineup following a bye in Week 11 and suit up for a Week 12 game at the New York Giants.

“Speaking for the first time publicly since suffering a hamstring injury in Week 7, Evans told ESPN it ‘would have been close’ for him to return this week at home against the San Francisco 49ers,” Laine wrote on November 9. “Evans hopes to return after the Week 11 bye, when the Buccaneers visit the New York Giants in Week 12. Sunday’s game will mark the third in a row he is sidelined — tied for the most he has missed in a season in his 11-year career.”

Evans, a 2-time NFL All-Pro, signed a 2-year, $52 million contract in March and had 26 receptions for 335 yards and 6 touchdowns before his injury.

Evans Still Has Chance at Making NFL History

Evans still has an outside chance to tie Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice’s NFL record of 11 consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons.

Evans already has the record for most 1,000-yard receiving seasons to start a career with his 10th in a row in 2023, when he also led the NFL in receiving touchdowns.

“I don’t, like, list off things, but that’s one of them that’s in the back of my mind because everybody’s talking about it,” Evans told NFL.com on July 24. “That’s been a record around for how many years now? Over 20 years? So, that’s something I definitely want to accomplish, and just help the team win ball games and be better than we were last year.”

Sports Illustrated’s Matthew Hewitt chipped in with a helpful breakdown of exactly what Evans needs to do to break Rice’s record.

“If Mike Evans returns after the bye, he will need to average 95 yards per game (665 yards) to reach his 1,000 yards,” Hewitt wrote on his official X account on November 8.

Otton, Mayfield Picked Up Slack in Evans’ Absence

No one on the Tampa Bay roster will be happier to get Evans back than quarterback Baker Mayfield, who has played some of the best football of his career over the last month — and still hasn’t been able to come up with wins.

While those losses have been more of the result of a putrid defense than anything Mayfield has done, one thing that has been interesting to watch is Mayfield forming a connection with wide receiver Cade Otton that should only be strengthened with Evan’s return.

Over the last 3 games, Otton has 25 receptions for 258 yards and 3 touchdowns and for the season has 44 receptions for 421 yards and 4 touchdowns.