Buccaneers' Head Coach Todd Bowles Comments on Mike Evans' Injury

While speaking after the game, Todd Bowles provided an update on Mike Evans after the star wide receiver went down during the first half.

Collin Haalboom | Oct 1, 2023

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers earned a crucial division victory over the New Orleans Saints this afternoon, winning by a score of 26-9.

Despite the extremely encouraging performance overall -- which allowed the Buccaneers to take over first place in the NFC South Division -- it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows.

Not only did starting safety, Ryan Neal, have to leave the game early with a concussion. But the Buccaneers' best offensive player, Mike Evans, was also forced to leave the game with a hamstring injury shortly before halftime.

Although he was initially listed as questionable to return, the team announced early in the second half that Evans would remain out for the rest of the game.

Following the game, head coach Todd Bowles was asked if he'd received an update on Evans' status.

“Not yet. He’s just tweaked it right now. We’ll see how serious it is, or isn’t, once we get out of here, and once they run some more tests on it," Bowles said after the game. "But I thought the guys came in, stepped up. Thompkins, Trey, Jarrett, all them guys really stepped up.”

It's true.

Evans was clearly Baker Mayfield's favorite target early on in this game. His three catches for 40 yards, and a big DPI drawn on Marshon Lattimore, helped the Bucs jump out to a 14-3 lead nearing halftime.

Whether or not the Buccaneers could shoulder the offensive load to keep the pressure on the Saints' defense was a big question mark once Evans was ruled out.

But like Bowles said, plenty of other players stepped up in his absence.

Godwin led the team with eight receptions for 114 yards, including several explosive plays that allowed the Bucs to get deep into New Orleans territory.

Thompkins had the best performance of his career as a receiver, highlighted by a spectacular diving catch in the end zone on third down.

Rookie receiver Trey Palmer also found on the end zone on a jump ball that he plucked out of the air over a Saints defender.

The loss of Mike Evans was not ideal. Evans has a history of hamstring injuries, but the timing of this one could have been much worse with the Bucs now headed for their early Week 5 bye. That will give Evans a full two weeks to recover.

That said, having a player as good as Chris Godwin operating as the team's WR2 is an incredibly valuable asset for the Buccaneers. Godwin's skills were fully utilized by Baker Mayfield and the Bucs' offense in the second half of today's game.

Further, the impressive contributions from younger players like Trey Palmer, Deven Thompkins, and Cade Otton -- each of whom scored a touchdown -- were the difference in the game.

Hopefully, Evans will be good to go when the Buccaneers return from their bye week to play the Detroit Lions at home on Sunday, October 15.

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Published Oct 1, 2023

COLLIN HAALBOOM

Prior to joining BucsGameday and Sports Illustrated, Collin's written content was provided through Bucs Banter, and NFL Draft Lounge. He is also the creator and host of the Bucs Banter Podcast. He is a graduate of the Communication Studies program at McMaster University, where he was also a varsity basketball player, and later an advanced scout. He lives with his wife and two children in Hamilton, ON. You can follow Collin on YouTube and Twitter.