Tampa Bay wide receiver Mike Evans suffered a concussion and a broken collarbone in Monday’s 24-9 loss at Detroit. He’s expected to miss most of the remainder of the season, but there’s a chance he could return at some point in December.
“He’ll be out mostly toward the end of the year,” coach Todd Bowles said of a potential timetable for Evans to get back on the field. “We’ll see what happens.”
Evans appeared poised to make a diving catch on a deep ball from Baker Mayfield, but he dropped the ball as his head hit the turf. Detroit cornerback Rock Ya-Sin had good coverage on the play and landed on top of Evans as his shoulder was coming down on the turf.
Evans appeared to be unconscious and was motionless on the field for about a minute as his teammates gathered around him.
“I was just worried about him,” tight end Cade Otton told ESPN. “I didn’t really know what was going on at the time, so just letting them know that I’m there for him and that’s all you can do in that moment. … Obviously he’s the leader on the team, great teammate, great person. So just want him to have a speedy recovery.”
Evans, who was reportedly in good spirits after the game, was playing for the first time since straining his hamstring in Week 3.
The injury means the Texas A&M product’s NFL record for most consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards won’t be extended. Evans is the only player in NFL history to get to 1,000 receiving yards in his first 11 NFL seasons.
He is tied with Jerry Rice, who also had 11 straight 1,000-yard seasons, but Rice’s didn’t come beginning with his rookie campaign.
“It’s very unfortunate, but Mike’s a professional,” Mayfield said. “He’ll handle it the best way he possibly can. Being injured, not being able to play is one thing, but I know Mike will be there and support the guys no matter what, and that’s really just a testament to who he is. That’s not easy to do. Sometimes it’s hard to stand around and watch when you know you want to be out there contributing, but Mike will help our guys out any way he can.”
In four games this year, Evans has 14 receptions for 140 yards and one TD.
Tampa Bay (5-2 straight up, 4-3 against the spread) will play at New Orleans in Week 8. As of Tuesday afternoon, most books had the Buccaneers listed as 4.5-point road favorites with a total of 47. The Saints were +190 on the money line.
FanDuel had Tampa Bay as a -270 favorite to win the NFC South. The Bucs have a one-game lead over Carolina (4-3 SU, 5-2 ATS) in the division standings, but Atlanta (3-3 SU, 3-3 ATS) has the next-shortest odds to win the loop (+380).
The Panters have +850 odds, while the Saints are 80/1 longshots.