As Monday Night Football kicked off in Week 7, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers knew they would be in for a dog fight with Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and the Baltimore Ravens. Coming out firing, though, the Bucs won the toss and chose to receive.
Tampa Bay proceeded to march down the field in a hurry on that first drive, and quarterback Baker Mayfield capped off the drive by hitting wide receiver Mike Evans in the end zone for his 100th career touchdown reception. Offensively, things looked to be going excellent to start this one.
About midway through the second quarter, though, Mayfield dropped back to pass and looked for Evans again on what would have been his 101st career touchdown reception. Instead, Evans couldn't come down with it and initially stayed on the ground grimacing in pain.
Prior to the game, Evans came into this one with a hamstring issue he had been dealing with after getting hurt last week. Even after the Bucs' first drive of the game in which Evans caught the touchdown, he appeared to be in some pain but decided to try and tough it out -- to nobody's surprise, of course. But, this time, things looked a little more serious.
After Evans went down, he limped to the sideline and did end up walking off the field on his own, although he headed straight to the locker room. While on his way to the locker room, Evans did then require some assistance.
Mike Evans walks off the field and to the locker room after he was down with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. pic.twitter.com/MuXMIFqq81
— Kyle Burger (@kyle_burger) October 22, 2024
More Bucs news:
Mike Evans' injury on Monday Night Football was a rare sight to see
This site was, indeed, a rare one for Bucs fans. The die-hards know just how durable Evans has been over the years; so durable, in fact, that he has only missed a grand total of nine games over his entire career.
Now, the fact that he was able to walk off the field under his own power was a great sign. After the weekend which saw many significant injuries to notable names, and some resulting in season-ending fashion, Bucs fans should at least be looking at the silver lining in that Evans didn't require a cart.
His status going forward is unknown, although hamstring injuries can be tricky. Based on recent history, these injuries can linger, therefore playing it safe is likely what the Bucs will try to do in order to ensure his health for a playoff run.
Update: Evans was pronounced out for the game with about four and a half minutes left in the second quarter. He was said to be in severe pain, per the live broadcast.