Buccaneers place safety Justin Evans on IR, sign veteran offensive tackle

Adding to his already dismal start to the 2019 season, safety Justin Evans has been placed on injured reserve by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

After stating it was time to panic about safety Justin Evans as he has still not recovered from his stint on the injured reserve last season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have placed him back on the IR. Evans can return to the active roster after week eight, if he is ready to go; in a subsequent move, the Buccaneers signed veteran offensive tackle Josh Wells.

Wells has spent the last five years with the Jacksonville Jaguars after he was signed as an undrafted free agent out of James Madison back in 2014. During his time in Jacksonville, Wells totaled 39 total starts, including 15 in 2017; he also missed the entire 2015 season with an injury after starting 12 as an undrafted rookie the year before.

The injury to Evans that will sideline him at least seven more weeks will thin the Buccaneers out at the safety position even more than it already was. Darian Stewart started for the Buccaneers opposite last year’s sixth round pick Jordan Whitehead. Third round pick Mike Edwards came in on a rotational basis as well after just returning from an injury that sidelined him for the last two weeks.

With Evans now on the IR, Stewart, Whitehead, and Edwards are the only active safeties on the roster. This means that nickel back M.J. Stewart and versatile linebacker Deone Bucannon will be forced to play out of position and at the safety position for the Buccaneers for at least the rest of the first half of the season.