The Tampa Bay Buccaneers improved to 3-0 with a 29-27 win over the New York jets on Sunday, but it may have come at a significant cost.
Star wide receiver Mike Evans, who’s the Bucs’ all-time leader in receptions (846), receiving yards (12,791), and touchdowns (105), left the game in the fourth quarter with an apparent injury and didn’t return.
Fans flocked to social media to express their concern after his exit, and head coach Todd Bowles didn’t do much to dissuade their anxiety after the game when he updated reporters on Evans’ status.
“So far it’s a hamstring tweak. I have not gone in to see the final details yet,” Bowles said, via ESPN’s Jena Laine.
More Football: Steelers-Tyreek Hill Trade Rumors Get Major Update
More Football: Browns Close to Making a Quarterback Change: Report
Multiple reports indicate Evans is scheduled to have an MRI and a more detailed update will likely be available once that happens.
And while Bucs fans will presumably be holding their breath until Evans’ MRI results come back, two prominent sports doctors took to social media to weigh with their opinions of what kind of injury timeline Evans is looking at.
“#Buccaneers Mike Evans – hamstring injury. His history + age makes this riskier. The reaction of throwing the helmet suggests he knows we’re looking at missed time,” medical doctor Deepak Chona, a sports surgeon and injury expert for Fantasy Pros who’s been featured on ESPN, NBC, and The Athletic, wrote on X.
More Football: Eagles’ Staffer ‘Big Dom’ Hit With Massive Fine by NFL
“That’s not a mild hamstring strain,” DD Fantasy Football injury expert and doctor of physical therapy Jeff Mueller added. “Anticipating a potential IR stint for Mike Evans coming up due to his age and hamstring history.”
Evans had four receptions, 33 yards and a touchdown before leaving Sunday’s game.
If he does, indeed, miss any significant time, the Bucs’ injury ravaged WR room, which has been without Pro Bowler Chris Godwin due to an ankle injury and Jalen McMillan who won’t return until at least Week 9 while recovering from a neck injury, will lean heavily on rookie Emeka Egbuka, 32-year-old Sterling Shepard, and second-year receiver Ryan Miller.