Mike

Evans

It was a highly anticipated matchup between Mike Evans and Marshon Lattimore, but Evans thoroughly trounced his foe in this one. It just wasn’t enough to get the Bucs the win. The veteran ends another impressive season with 1,004 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns on 74 catches (110 targets) despite playing just 14 games in the regular season. He had 15 plays over 20 yards and tied Jerry Rice with 11 consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards. He’ll be 32 years old next season and looking to make it 12 years in a row. At this point, it’s hard to doubt him, which makes Evans a high-end WR2 for 2025.

On the final play of the game, the Buccaneers made sure that Evans the necessary yardage for him to reach the thousand-yard mark. That gives him 11 straight seasons reaching that number and it ties Jerry Rice for the most consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 yards. The 31-year-old wideout was able to reach the mark despite missing five games, and he doesn’t appear to be slowing down. He’ll be back at it in the Wild Card round in a game that could be against a plethora of teams.

Evans operated as the de facto goal line back for Tampa Bay, scoring his touchdowns from one and two yards out. When he wasn’t scoring easy touchdowns, Evans was busy gashing the Panthers for big gains. The veteran wideout caught three passes of 15+ yards. Evans is now 85 yards shy of his 11th consecutive 1,000-yard season. With Tampa Bay playing for a postseason spot in Week 18, Evans is a good bet to get there in the final game of the regular season.

Evans was cooking in the first half, catching four passes for 59 yards before the break. He would then catch only one pass for 10 additional yards over the final two quarters, knocking him off pace for his 11th consecutive 1,000-yard season. The veteran wide receiver now needs to average 91 yards in each of the team’s final two contests to extend his NFL record, with games against the Panthers and Saints left on the schedule.

Evans finishes with touchdowns of his own and contributed directly to a third. He and Cade Otton helped free up Jalen McMillan on a rub route in the first quarter that sent the rookie WR flying down the sideline for a 26-yard score. Evans looks every bit the crafty route runner he has always been, deftly shaking CB Kristin Fulton on his 35-yard fourth-quarter score. Evans is a WR1 next week, facing a Cowboys defense that just lost CB Trevon Diggs (knee) for the season.

Evans played through the hamstring issue once this year and immediately aggravated it, causing a multi-week absence. The Bucs are being extra cautious with Evans’ practice reps this time around to make sure the injury doesn’t flare up again. He was held out of practice on Wednesday and Thursday before being upgraded to a limited session to close the week. Evans being cleared from the report entirely is a good indicator that his light workload in practice is just a precaution. He remains near the top of the WR2 ranks for his Week 15 matchup with the Chargers.

Evans, 31, is nursing a hamstring injury that pre-dates the Buccaneers’ Week 11 bye. The veteran receiver opened last week with two missed practices before logging a limited session on Friday and ultimately being removed from the team’s final injury report. We’d expect him to follow a similar path for Week 15, and perhaps the rest of the season.

Though a DNP is hardly a positive, taking days off due to injury is par for the course with Evans at this point. He is notably no longer listed with both hamstring and calf injuries, evidently putting the former behind him. Fantasy managers can expect the WR1/2 to suit up, assuming he at least practices in a limited capacity on Friday.

The Raiders got constant pressure on Baker Mayfield, who also appeared to be dealing with a minor ankle injury, forcing the ball out of his hands quickly on a high percentage of his plays. Evans’ long-developing deep routes weren’t as easy to connect on this week, resulting in a sleepy stat line from the veteran receiver. He still came one yard short of leading the team in receiving and his four catches tied two other players for a team-high, so it wasn’t all bad for Evans. He should rebound as a high-end WR2 when the Bucs take on the Chargers next week.

Evans sat out Wednesday and Thursday practices before practicing in a limited capacity on Friday. The team appears confident in his availability, given his game status but fantasy managers should keep in mind that Evans suffered two different hamstring strains earlier this season and evidently picked up a calf injury in Week 13. He is a highly volatile WR1.