Buccaneers Poised to Make Run With Likely Return of $52 Million WR

Getty Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans.

The position the Tampa Bay Buccaneers find themselves in headed into the home stretch of the 2024 regular season is familiar territory. That is, with a losing record and most of the NFL counting them out.

The Buccaneers rebounded from a 6-8 record in 2022 and a 4-7 record in 2023 to make a run to the playoffs both seasons. With a 4-6 record coming off a bye week and 2 very winnable games coming up — at the New York Giants in Week 12 and at the Carolina Panthers in Week 13 — they’ll need to lean into those past experiences.

According to ESPN, Tampa Bay has the easiest remaining schedule in the NFL and will likely get to play those games with NFL All-Pro wide receiver Mike Evans, who has been out since aggravating a hamstring injury in a Week 7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Coincidentally, the Buccaneers haven’t won since they had Evans on the field and have lost 4 consecutive games, including 3 that came down to a single possession and the last 2 losses on the final play of the game against the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers.

Evans, who signed a 2-year, $52 million contract in March 2024, is Tampa Bay’s career leading receiver and has 26 receptions for 335 yards and 6 touchdowns through 7 games, although he was hurt early in the loss to the Ravens.

“Still, they’ve been here before and this isn’t insurmountable,” wrote ESPN’s Jenna Laine on November 18. “Tampa was 4-7 last year before winning five out of six to get above .500. They were even 6-8 in Tom Brady’s final year — 2022 — in Week 15. Still, the Bucs needed a tiebreaker to win the division last season over the New Orleans Saints, and no team in the division had a winning record in 2022. But this year is different. The Falcons (6-5) have already swept the Bucs in their head-to-head matchups, so Tampa may have to rely on fighting for a wild-card spot instead of an automatic berth into the playoffs by winning the conference — a first since 2020.”

Bowles Stands Pat on Trade Deadline Decision

One thing the Buccaneers could have done after Evans’ injury and leading wide receiver Chris Godwin’s season-ending injury was make a trade to bring in another wide receiver. They didn’t do that, and Bowles was staunch in his defense of his non-decision.

“We don’t need any new players,” Bowles told Laine.

The Buccaneers didn’t just stand pat at the trade deadline. They haven’t even made an attempt to get several of the free agent wide receivers who have been available all year, including former Pro Bowlers Michael Thomas and Hunter Renfrow, in the hopes that rookie Jalen McMillan might step up in the absence of Evans and Godwin.

That just hasn’t happened. McMillan, a third round pick (No. 92 overall) out of Washington, has just 10 receptions for 109 yards and 1 touchdown. In the Week 10 loss to the 49ers, McMillan was on the active roster but didn’t play a single snap.

Breaking Down Buccaneers’ Playoff Odds

The Buccaneers’ playoff chances are slim but not non-existent following 4 consecutive losses. According to NFL.com, they are currently 11th in the NFC playoff standings with 7 spots available and have a 37 percent chance of making the playoffs with 6 games remaining.