It's been 20 days since we last saw Mike Evans on the football field, but it somehow feels like even longer than that. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been without their future Hall of Fame wide receiver since mid-October when he suffered a hamstring injury in a Monday Night Football loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Since then the Bucs' offense hasn't lost much of a step, but the absence of Evans has been noticeable. Compounding things is the loss of Chris Godwin, who also exited that Monday night loss but will not return at all this seaosn.
Evans, on the other hand, is slated to return but the timeline remains a little open-ended. The team has indicated that he'll be ready to come back after the bye week, but we had yet to hear from the man himself until this weekend.
Mike Evans weighs in on latest injury update and when he plans on returning
For the first time since his injury and recovery, Evans spoke with the media and gave an update on where things stand. ESPN's Jenna Laine passed along a quote that seems to indicate that Evans will indeed be back after the bye, but it's clear he's still taking an cautious approach.
"It's extremely tough," Evans said. "Obviously, everybody knows the competitor that I am, and they know I want to be out there with my team and help us win ballgames, but I can't rush it and I'll be back when I'm back and hopefully that'll be after the bye week and I'll be myself."
Being as cautious as possible is paramount for the Bucs and Evans. Tampa Bay has yet to win a game without him in the lineup, but that could change on Sunday against the 49ers. Most folks resigned to the idea that the team would be 4-6 heading into the bye, but being able to hit that break with a 5-5 record would set the Bucs up nicely to storm into the second half of the season.
After the bye Tampa Bay gets games against the Giants, Raiders, and Panthers -- all very winnable games. There could be an argument that Evans might get an extra week or two of rest of the matchups are deemed favorable, but the recent losing streak has put the team in a position where it flatout must win games.
Liam Coen and the Bucs offense has managed to still put up great numbers without Evans, but the team is undeinably better with him in the lineup. It sounds like we're finally nearing the point where that will happen.
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