It seems as though Mike Evans’ record-breaking season has come to an end -- or at least his pursuit of Jerry Rice's all-time record has.
We've all seen the play by now: ball in hand, coming down hard, landing violently on his upper body, and falling limp in chilling fashion. It's not a record, but rather Evans' collarbone that is broken, and in the days after, all the talk was of how he'll fail to pass Jerry Rice in the history books. Let's be perfectly clear: nothing Evans accomplished over the last decade with the Bucs isn't even remotely close to a failure.
Battling back from injury to keep his streak of consecutive 1,000-yard seasons alive, Evans left it all on the field and went down doing it with the grit and sacrifice that define who he's always been as a player -- one Buccaneers fans have loved over and over these last 11 years.
He won't break the consecutive 1,000-yard receiving record, but no one should hang their head. Evans' name will forever stand side by side with Rice, who is widely regarded as the best receiver of all time. Tying Rice’s record is an astounding achievement, full stop.
Don't let anyone fool you into thinking Mike Evans failed in his pursuit of Jerry Rice's record
A little known fact is that Jerry Rice’s record did not begin his rookie year, unlike his successor Mike Evans. Rice fell short of the 1,000-yard mark in his first year with 927 receiving yards. He did not start his path to the record until his second year in the league, eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark with an impressive 1,570 yards to begin his journey toward setting the record Evans tied in 2024. In contrast, Evans accomplished the feat immediately out of the gate in his rookie year, racking up a quick 1,051 yards to begin his illustrious career.
Both Evans and Rice faced scares during their record-setting 11 seasons. In Rice’s third season as a pro, he appeared in only 12 games in 1987, barely keeping his streak alive with a close 1,078 yards. Like his peer Jerry Rice, Mike Evans appeared in only 13 games in his 2019 campaign. Yet the elite talent still racked up an impressive 1,157 yards, keeping his streak alive to one day match Rice’s impressive feat.
Evans was also a key part of bringing the franchise’s second Lombardi Trophy home alongside the great Tom Brady. Evans and Brady were two peas in a pod, with Evans being arguably the best talent at receiver Brady played with since Randy Moss. The two flourished, racking up career numbers in their journey to the Super Bowl.
While he might not have passed Rice, he'll forever be directly linked to one of the all-time greats forever. His company from now until the end of time is alongside one of the best players to ever play his position -- if not the best -- which feels absolutely fitting.