TAMPA, Fla. – In a cruel turn of fate at the next game after becoming the first NFL player to register 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first seven seasons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans sustained a left knee injury, causing his status for the playoffs in jeopardy.
After being examined at Raymond James Stadium, Evans was taken for an MRI, according to two sources familiar with the situation.
With 24 seconds to go in the first quarter, the triple Pro Bowler cut in to catch what would have been a 10-yard touchdown and hyper-extended his left knee, with the ball and Evans both dropping to the ground where he was sitting squirming in pain for a few seconds before being kicked off the field, unable to put weight on his left leg. He was taken to the dressing room in a cart. He was later excluded from the competition.
A game earlier, the scoreboard flashed “1,000” along with the years 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 – all the years that Evans finished with 1,000 receiving yards.
Needing 40 yards for record Sunday, Evans caught a 20-yard pass from Tom Brady to make it 46, with fans getting to their feet quickly.
With 10 wins, the Bucs had already secured a playoff spot en route to Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons, but are fighting for the fifth playoff seed. Coach Bruce Arians said last week that he hoped Evans could have captured the record then, so he could leave him in week 17.
Now its status in the future is uncertain. Evans has been the # 1 wide receiver of the Bucs for the past few years and has regularly attracted the attention of opposing defenses with shadow coverage and double coverage. He was also arguably Brady’s most valuable target in the quarterback’s first year at Tampa Bay, where he managed to catch 13 team touchdown passes.