The Tampa Bay Buccaneers placed star wide receiver Mike Evans on the COVID list yesterday, putting the Buccaneers’ quest for another 1,000 yards in doubt.
Since entering the NFL in 2014, Evans has graced Bucs fans with a 1,000-yard receiving season each of his first seven seasons in the league. In doing so, he became the first player in the history of the NFL to go on such a run. Given the legends to play the wide receiver position, that is saying a whole lot.
His streak has provided a little something extra for fans to look forward to and follow along with, as it enhances the Canton portfolio for Evans. So far in 2021, Evans sits at 899 yards, a mere 101 yards shy of eight seasons in a row eclipsing 1,000 yards.
Evans was forced to sit out the Buccaneers’ most recent triumph against the Carolina Panthers this past week and was eager to get back onto the field. Now, he may be forced to miss the Bucs’ upcoming tilt with the New York Jets, a team that certainly would have allowed for some stat padding, for another health-related reason.
Evans became the latest in the plethora of players to be placed on the COVID list and is now in jeopardy of missing the game, which would mean that he would only have one game to get this final 101 yards.
Now, while it is a total bummer that this is the case, and maybe even irritating to some, the fact of the matter is we need to remember these players are human too, and their superhuman perception of the public can sometimes lead us to forget that. This is still a disease, and our main priority is hoping Evans is feeling and doing alright.
The health of Mike Evans is the most important thing, and while we can’t wait to see him back on the field to continue pursuing yet another 1,000-yard season, we also need to keep things in perspective and hope he’s feeling alright and wish a speedy recovery.