It has been a rough month and a half for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers without superstar wide receiver Mike Evans, who broke his collarbone in the Bucs October loss to the Detroit Lions. Evans is the No. 1 wide receiver in Tampa Bay, Baker Mayfield's safety blanket, one of the few true veteran locker room leaders, and the greatest player at his position in the franchise's history.
Evans has been inching closer to a return that is sooner than initially anticipated when he went down, but that is a testament to both advances in medicine and Evans's hard rehab work. There was actually a bit of speculation that he could return for the New Orleans Saints game, but that was obviously way too rosy.
Heading into this must win on Thursday Night Football against another NFC South rival in the Atlanta Falcons, which has only become a more pivotal game after that debacle for the Bucs vs. the Saints on Sunday, there has been a mix of optimism that Evans can play juxtaposed with worries that a Thursday night turn around is too quick for Johnny Manziel's favorite college target.
Is Mike Evans ready to help the Buccaneers beat the Falcons?
According to the official Buccaneers injury report before the Falcons game on Amazon's weekly NFL showcase, Mike Evans is officially questionable to play. He has also been officially activated from the injured reserve, strongly hinting that he will play, otherwise the Bucs would not have bothered to take up that roster spot.
Per Greg Auman of FOX Sports, Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles told reporters that Evans has already shown everyone in the organization that he is ready to play on Thursday. So it appears despite the questionable status, Evans has practiced well enough, fully enough, and effectively enough to be counted on as one of the starting wideouts at Raymond James Stadium.
Evans will be a huge lift to the dented spirits of these Buccaneers, who have lost to three Super Bowl contenders to cut their own ambitions down a peg. And that was before getting embarrassed by a pretty awful New Orleans Saints team.
The Buccaneers and especially quarterback Baker Mayfield need Evans out there. Bucky Irving was not placed on a pitch count despite speculation that he would be when he returned from his injuries to the Buccaneers backfield, and given Evans's experience and importance to this team, as well as his insane toughness, he will likely finagle himself a full workload vs. the Falcons.