The Buccaneers have been shorthanded at wide receiver all season, with Jalen McMillan going down during preseason play. Mike Evans and Chris Godwin have also missed significant chunks of the year, but Tampa Bay may finally have its deep wideout arsenal back in Week 15.
Evans and McMillan are coming off IR today, the team announced. While it is not a lock either will play in Week 15, this is a good sign one or both will be ready for the Bucs’ Thursday-night matchup with the Falcons. Todd Bowles said (via the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud) the duo could return for this game. Activations from IR certainly point to it.
Although the Bucs have seen injuries on offense play a big role in their season, Tampa Bay entered Week 15 in great shape in terms of injury activations. They had only used one (on right tackle Luke Goedeke) leading up to the Evans and McMillan moves. The team still has five activations to cover the rest of the regular season.
Evans has been down with a broken clavicle since Week 4. A December return emerged as the future Hall of Famer’s target window, and he has been pushing to play this week. Evans has yet to log a full practice since being designated for return, but he he has now gone through six limited sessions ahead of this Atlanta game. The Bucs have also seen their offense slow after a first-half surge.
While Evans would undoubtedly benefit from the mini-bye set to follow this Thursday assignment, the Bucs could certainly use him now. Bowles said (via Fox Sports’ Greg Auman) Evans has shown what he has needed to show, pointing to a Week 15 reemergence.
This season brought the longest absence of Evans’ career, and it will end his record-setting streak of 1,000-yard seasons at 11. The Bucs’ No. 1 wide receiver since before Jameis Winston‘s arrival, Evans has been one of the most consistent players in NFL history. He may never have threatened to be the NFL’s best receiver during his 12-year career, but the former top-10 pick has been ultra-reliable as Winston, Tom Brady and Mayfield have stopped through Tampa.
Evans’ presence helped Brady elevate the team to a championship, and it played a pivotal role in Mayfield’s resurgence. The Bucs are suddenly in a fight for the NFC South crown with the Panthers, so having their 6-foot-5 weapon back represents a key variable in this duel.
McMillan has been down since suffering a neck fracture during a preseason game. Initially referred to as a “severely strained neck,” McMillan’s injury injected obvious concern about his status after a productive rookie year. But the Bucs are close to having the 2024 third-round pick back, creating an interesting setup for Mayfield as the team attempts to end the lull that has defined a chunk of its season. The Bucs have fallen to 7-6, but two games against the Panthers loom to potentially repair the damage.
Last year, McMillan finished with 37 catches for 461 yards and eight touchdowns. Seven of those eight scores came in Tampa Bay’s final five games, as McMillan filled in for Godwin as Evans’ top sidekick. Despite having McMillan healthy (at the time) and re-signing Godwin to a three-year, $66MM deal, the Bucs drafted Emeka Egbuka at No. 19.
As other teams circled, Tampa Bay made one of the more surprising picks of this draft by adding a standout talent to a solid receiving corps. Egbuka has not disappointed, catching 54 balls for 806 yards and six TDs. He has slowed down over the past month, however, not topping 45 yards in a game in that span.
Egbuka will likely not see his role change much (if at all) with Evans and McMillan returning. But the Ohio State product has needed to shoulder plenty in the Bucs’ passing game due to the receiver injuries, which also included ankle and fibula issues for Godwin. The longtime Evans sidekick is finally rounding back into form, though, after missing nine games. The Bucs are close to having their optimal top quartet available, and we should see the offense Jason Licht and Co. envisioned this offseason when Evans and McMillan make long-awaited comebacks.
Gross-Matos, 27, appeared in San Francisco’s first five games of the season before going down with a hamstring strain. He spent a few weeks on the shelf before re-aggravating the injury at the end of October. That forced the six-year veteran onto IR on November 1, and his absence has now extended to eight games.
