The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had to deal with several notable injuries over the past week, and now one of their top playmakers has been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. On Monday, the Buccaneers announced that wide receiver Mike Evans had been added to the league’s new coronavirus registry.
Evans suffered a hamstring injury last week against the New Orleans Saints, and did not play in the 32-6 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday after not practicing all week. Head coach Bruce Arians previously said that his entire team has been vaccinated against the coronavirus, which means Evans has a chance to return before Tampa’s Week 17 matchup against the New York Jets on Sunday.
The NFL recently updated their COVID-19 protocols so that vaccinated players can “test out” of protocols. The player just has to be asymptomatic and register two negative tests separated by 24 hours, or record two PCR tests that produce Cycle Threshold values of 35 or greater.
Evans is the Buccaneers’ second-leading receiver with 64 catches for 899 yards and a team-high 11 touchdowns. Chris Godwin reached 1,103 receiving yards in 14 games played, but suffered a torn ACL and is done for the season. Evans and Antonio Brown are expected to be the new dynamic duo at receiver as Tampa looks to repeat as Super Bowl champions.
