Monday night did not go well for the Buccaneers, who are now facing an immediate future without both their long-running wide receivers. Chris Godwin is set to undergo ankle surgery, and Mike Evans likely needs time off as well.
While not in jeopardy of missing the rest of the season like his longtime sidekick, Evans is expected to miss time. Entering the game with a hamstring injury, Evans aggravated it during Tampa Bay’s loss to Baltimore. The Bucs are not planning to place Evans on IR, per the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud, but he should be considered likely to miss three games.
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Todd Bowles has since said he does not expect Evans back until after the bye, even while the third-year Tampa Bay HC labeled the injury “moderate.” Bucs’ bye comes in Week 11. This would give Evans a month off without needing to miss the required four games.
Evans, 31, has proven remarkably durable during his career; he has missed more than two games in a season on just one occasion (2019). Even then, the impact wideout only missed three games. With Godwin also out, the Bucs will face a considerable challenge after a solid start to the season. Godwin sustained a dislocated ankle Monday night and is set for surgery; he is not expected back this season. While that deals a blow to the Bucs, they would be in rarely explored territory if both Evans and Godwin were out.
For the most part, the Bucs have been able to rely on at least one of these two since Godwin moved into the starting lineup during the 2019 season. Both Evans and Godwin did miss the 2019 season’s final two games, and Godwin’s ACL tear in Week 15 of the 2021 season preceded Evans’ one-game absence in Week 16 that year. The team still had Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski at that point, however. Brown’s final completed game as a Buccaneer involved neither Evans nor Godwin. Beyond that, one member of the Bucs’ homegrown pair has been available.
Evans missed two practices last week and logged a limited session to close out the Bucs’ Ravens preparation stretch, but he did not make it through the Baltimore contest. This calls into question the team’s risk management, as hamstring injuries are known to linger. The Bucs face the Falcons, Chiefs and 49ers over the next three weeks. The Atlanta matchup will be critical, as Tampa Bay lost a recent shootout to the Falcons and the rivals are tied atop the NFC South at 4-3.
Evans, 31, re-signed on a frontloaded two-year, $41MM deal just before free agency. While Godwin was off to the better start in sitting second in the NFL in receiving yardage, Evans is still playing well. Last year’s receiving TDs leader stands atop the NFL, with six, this season. Evans has caught 26 passes for 335 yards. Evans is famously 10-for-10 in 1,000-yard seasons. While that is not the NFL record for 1,000-yard slates, no one is close to Evans in terms of four-digit seasons out of the gate. This will hinder a quest for No. 11.
The absences of he and Godwin will certainly present a challenge for Baker Mayfield, who has started well after re-signing on a three-year, $100MM deal a day before the legal tampering period opened. The Bucs used a third-round pick on Jalen McMillan and have 2023 sixth-rounder Trey Palmer as a depth piece as well. Ex-Mayfield college teammate Sterling Shepard, however, leads all non-Evans and Godwin Bucs wideouts with 93 receiving yards. Shepard, who did not factor into the 2023 Giants’ offense prominently, will soon be in for a throwback role.
Will his 1,000+ yard record be in jeopardy? I hope he & Chris make full recoveries.