Evans enters the season with the least confidence Fantasy managers have had about him since he first broke out. An uncertain quarterback position is one of the problems; going from Tom Brady and the excellent rapport they'd built to a veteran retread like Baker Mayfield or a mid-round dart throw like Kyle Trask is troubling. What's more troubling is how far Evans' production fell off in 2022. He earned just the 37th-highest target share and the 22nd-most red-zone targets in the league. And it's not like he should've gotten more targets - he was just 33rd in yards per route run. Evans feels like a name-inflated WR3 who is going off the board in Rounds 7-8.
Buccaneers' Mike Evans: Sit Him (Lineup Decisions)
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It's OK to start Evans with lowered expectations given Lattimore and the Saints' history of keeping him locked up. It's also OK to start Chris Godwin with higher expectations since he has 13-plus PPR points in 5 of his past 7 against the Saints and will almost certainly see easier matchups. Should managers start Evans over Godwin? That feels a little risky. But starting Zay Flowers, Jordan Addison, Tank Dell or Christian Kirk over Evans carries enough upside to make it worth considering.
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Buccaneers' Mike Evans: Bust Alert (Start/Sit)
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I'm still ranking Evans as a No. 2 Fantasy receiver, and it's hard to bench him in most formats given his start to the season with Baker Mayfield. Evans has a touchdown in three games in a row, and he's scored at least 17.0 PPR points in each outing against Minnesota, Chicago and Philadelphia. But Evans has a brutal history against the Saints and cornerback Marshon Lattimore, which is something to be wary of in this matchup. As Adam Aizer pointed out on our Fantasy Football Today podcast, in 10 games against Lattimore Evans has scored more than 12.8 PPR points just once. He has scored in single digits in PPR in five of those 10 games, and he has more than 64 yards only twice. You can check my rankings to see which receivers I would start ahead of Evans, but he's just barely ranked as a No. 2 Fantasy option this week based on the matchup.
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Buccaneers' Mike Evans: Finds end zone in loss
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Evans secured five of 10 targets for 60 yards and a touchdown in the Buccaneers' 25-11 loss to the Eagles on Monday night.
Evans was in the customary position of leading the Buccaneers in receptions, receiving yards and targets, and the talented wideout also was on the receiving end of Baker Mayfield's only touchdown toss of the night on a one-yard slant early in the fourth quarter. The multi-time Pro Bowler has clearly been Mayfield's favorite target through three games, even as Monday night's catch and receiving yardage totals were season lows. Evans next sets his sights on long-time archnemesis Marshon Lattimore and a tough Saints defense, which await in a Week 4 divisional matchup.
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Buccaneers' Mike Evans: Stellar numbers in hard-fought win
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Evans secured six of eight targets for 171 yards and a touchdown in the Buccaneers' 27-17 win over the Bears on Sunday.
Evans exploded for his second-highest yardage total since the 2020 season, with a 70-yard catch-and-run play that kicked off the Buccaneers' third possession serving as one of his main highlights of the afternoon. While Evans ran out of gas before reaching the end zone on that play, he made up for it with a key 32-yard scoring grab in the latter portion of the third quarter that extended a 13-10 lead. Evans and Baker Mayfield have flashed excellent chemistry over their first two games, as the multi-time Pro Bowl receiver will go into a Week 3 home matchup against the Eagles on Monday, Sept. 25 with a 12-237-2 line on 18 targets this season.
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Buccaneers' Mike Evans: WRs to Start
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Last week, I had Chris Godwin in this spot, but I said you can start both Buccaneers receivers against the Vikings. Evans had the better outing with six catches for 66 yards and a touchdown on 10 targets, while Godwin had five catches for 51 yards on six targets. I like both Buccaneers again in Week 2 against Chicago, and this could be the last home-opener for Evans, who is a free agent after this year. It was great to see Baker Mayfield keep Evans playing at a high level in their first game together, and Godwin will hopefully follow suit against the Bears. Both of them should be considered No. 2 Fantasy receivers in all leagues.
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Buccaneers' Mike Evans: Finds end zone in Week 1 win
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Evans secured six of 10 targets for 66 yards and a touchdown in the Buccaneers' 20-17 win over the Vikings on Sunday.
Evans finished as the team leader in receptions, receiving yards and targets, helping Baker Mayfield author an upset victory on the road in his first official game as future Hall of Famer Tom Brady's successor. The multi-time Pro Bowl receiver, who was unable to come to terms on a contract extension with the Buccaneers before the start of the season, recorded an impressive 28-yard touchdown grab with just over a minute left in the first half to begin Tampa Bay's comeback from a 10-3 deficit. Evans should naturally remain one of Mayfield's top targets throughout the season, and he'll have a chance to work with his new quarterback at home for the first time in what could be a favorable Week 2 matchup against the Bears.
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Buccaneers' Mike Evans: No contract extension
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Evans and the Buccaneers did not come to terms on a contract extension before Evans' Saturday deadline, Jay Glazer reported on the Fox Sunday morning pregame show.
Evans is a free agent after the season, just turned 30 and is now playing with Baker Mayfield instead of Tom Brady as his quarterback. If he does indeed hit free agency next offseason, he may encounter a similar scenario to DeAndre Hopkins, where he finds the market for his services isn't quite what he expected it to be.
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Buccaneers' Mike Evans: Puts injury behind him
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Evans (groin) wasn't listed on the Buccaneers' first Week 1 injury report Wednesday.
Tampa Bay held Evans out of the team's exhibition finale due to a groin injury, which appears to be behind him considering his absence from Wednesday's injury report. There's a lingering deadline of Saturday for Evans and the Buccaneers to reach an agreement on a contract extension, as his current deal has three void years starting in 2024. If nothing emerges from those talks, he could be playing his 10th and final campaign with the team this fall.
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Buccaneers' Mike Evans: Puts deadline on contract talks
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Evans (groin) has informed the Buccaneers that he will discontinue contract discussions Sept. 9, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.
The deadline is one day before the Bucs kick off their season with a game in Minnesota. It appears Evans will suit up regardless of the contract situation, as he practiced Thursday after dealing with a minor groin injury last week. He turned 30 a couple weeks ago and is entering the final season of a five-year, $82.5 million extension, with he and Chris Godwin serving as the far-and-away top options for new Bucs QB Baker Mayfield.
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Buccaneers' Mike Evans: On track for Week 1
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Evans (groin) is practicing Thursday and expected to play Week 1 at Minnesota, Greg Auman of Fox Sports reports.
Evans was scheduled to play in the preseason finale but ended up being scratched with a groin injury that coach Todd Bowles described as minor. The wideout is now back practicing 10 days before the season opener, putting him on track to serve as one of QB Baker Mayfield's top two options along with long-time running mate Chris Godwin. The Bucs otherwise are counting on relatively inexperienced players at the skill positions, including RB Rachaad White and TE Cade Otton, with candidates for the No. 3 WR job being Trey Palmer, Deven Thompkins and Rakim Jarrett (all 23 or younger). Assuming no setbacks with the groin, Evans should be tasked with large target and route shares from the jump.
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Buccaneers' Mike Evans: Dealing with groin injury
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Head coach Todd Bowles said Sunday that Evans has been dealing with a groin injury, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reported that Evans was in line to see his first game action with Baker Mayfield during Saturday's preseason finale against the Ravens, but the dynamic wideout ultimately never took the field. It appears that decision was out of an abundance of caution, as Bowles added Evans didn't need to play Saturday and would've been okay to suit up if it had been a regular season game. Either way, Evans' groin injury, whether minor or not, is a storyline worth following with just two weeks left before Tampa Bay opens the 2023 campaign in Minnesota.
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Buccaneers' Mike Evans: In-game action with Mayfield on tap
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Evans will have his first in-game opportunity to play with newly named starting quarterback Baker Mayfield in Saturday's preseason finale against the Ravens, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports.
Mayfield was named the starting quarterback Tuesday after winning a tightly contested job battle with Kyle Trask. The Buccaneers then announced the 2018 first overall pick would play the first half versus Baltimore along with Evans and Chris Godwin, giving the trio their first in-game opportunity to work together. Evans and the rest of his offensive teammates have been learning new coordinator Dave Canales' system since OTAs, and the veteran wideout should be a constant presence on the heavy dose of short and intermediate throws the scheme calls for.
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Buccaneers' Mike Evans: Not suiting up Friday
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Evans isn't slated to play in Friday's preseason contest against the Steelers, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Both Evans and Chris Godwin aren't suiting up for the Buccaneers' exhibition opener, meaning Russell Gage, Trey Palmer, Deven Thompkins and David Moore, among others, will be the wide receivers available to the offense. Evans' next chance for some preseason action will arrive Saturday, Aug. 19 at the Jets.
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Buccaneers' Mike Evans: Showing chemistry with Mayfield
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Evans has made several noteworthy plays in the first three days of training camp and particularly showed good chemistry with Baker Mayfield in Friday's practice, Brianna Dix of the team's official site reports.
The four-time Pro Bowler is going to see an appreciable quarterback downgrade this season whether it's Mayfield or Kyle Trask under center, considering whoever prevails in their summer job battle will be succeeding the legendary Tom Brady. However, Evans naturally enjoyed plenty of success in Tampa Bay prior to Brady's arrival in 2020, and Friday, Dix notes the emerging chemistry between him and the 2018 first-overall pick was on display in the form of a crossing pattern that resulted in a touchdown as well as on several sideline and over-the-middle grabs. Evans should once again see significant volume in the coming season as a co-No.1 receiver, at minimum, alongside Chris Godwin.
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Buccaneers' Mike Evans: Solid numbers in season-ending loss
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Evans brought in six of 11 targets for 74 yards in the Buccaneers' 31-14 wild-card loss to the Cowboys on Monday night. He also caught a two-point conversion.
Evans finished third in receptions and tied for second in receiving yards and targets on the night for the Buccaneers, a solid finish to an up-and-down season. He finished the regular campaign with 77 receptions for 1,124 yards and six touchdowns across 15 games, with half of his scores coming in a Week 17 win over the Panthers that locked up an NFC South title for the Bucs. While Evans, who'll be 30 when next season begins, has a cap hit of just under $24 million for 2023, he'd also carry a dead cap hit of over $21 million if released. As a result he's expected to once again play a key role for Tampa Bay, although Tom Brady's NFL future remains an unknown as the offseason begins.
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Buccaneers' Mike Evans: Practices in full Thursday
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Evans (illness) was a full practice participant Thursday.
After hauling in 10 of 12 targets for 207 yards and three touchdowns to help the Buccaneers clinch the NFC South with a win against the Panthers in Week 17, Evans didn't log a snap before being ruled out due to an illness this past Sunday in Atlanta. With the benefit of three days to rest and recover, though, he managed to log every rep during Tampa Bay's first practice in advance of Monday's wild-card game against the Cowboys. As a result, Evans will join forces with Chris Godwin as the top wide receivers available to quarterback Tom Brady.
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Buccaneers' Mike Evans: Won't return to Sunday's game
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Evans won't return to Sunday's game against the Falcons due to an illness.
Prior to his exit from the contest, Evans didn't catch a pass. The wideout will thus target a return to action next weekend, when the Buccaneers open their playoff slate.
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Buccaneers' Mike Evans: Three-touchdown tally in key win
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Evans brought in 10 of 12 targets for 207 yards and three touchdowns in the Buccaneers' 30-24 win over the Panthers on Sunday.
Evans seemingly took out a season's worth of frustration in one afternoon on an undermanned Panthers secondary, finding pay dirt down the right sideline from 63, 57 and 30 yards out. The latter two scores came in the fourth quarter and allowed the Buccaneers to overcome an 11-point deficit, and both the reception and receiving yardage totals served as season highs. Evans' touchdowns were also his first since Week 4, and he'll now aim to build some additional momentum ahead of the postseason in a Week 18 road matchup against the Falcons.
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Buccaneers' Mike Evans: Three catches in OT win
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Evans brought in three of eight targets for 29 yards in the Buccaneers' 19-16 overtime win over the Cardinals on Sunday night.
It was shaping up as another highly inefficient night for the Tom Brady-Evans connection until the duo got cooking at the most critical time of the game. Evans recorded two catches for 24 yards in the Buccaneers' game-winning drive in overtime, helping somewhat salvage an otherwise disappointing night that saw him as the intended target on both of Brady's interceptions. Evans did cross the 900-yard mark for the season with Sunday's production, and he'll aim to eclipse the 1,000-yard threshold for the ninth time in as many pro seasons during a pivotal Week 17 home clash against the Panthers.
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Buccaneers' Mike Evans: WRs to Start
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Evans is on pace for his ninth straight 1,000-yard season with 888 yards through 13 games, and it feels like Tom Brady is trying to get Evans the yards he needs as soon as possible. Evans had 10 targets in Week 15 against Cincinnati, which was his most since Week 9, and he finished with five catches for 83 yards. He had not been above 59 receiving yards since Week 8, so hopefully Evans can finish the season strong. Now, he's still stuck on three touchdowns and hasn't scored since Week 4, but I like him as a No. 2 receiver against the Cardinals in Week 16. Arizona has allowed five receivers to score at least 14 PPR points in the past four games, and Evans and Chris Godwin should both be productive in this matchup.
