Mike Evans injury update: Todd Bowles provides latest on Buccaneers WR's return

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans will be active for the Week 15 Thursday Night Football home game against the Atlanta Falcons. Head coach Todd Bowles said Wednesday that Evans has shown everything he needed to show in practice this week for him to make his return, per Greg Auman of FOX Sports.

Evans has been sidelined since Week 7 after suffering a broken clavicle in the 24-9 road defeat to the Detroit Lions. He was expected to be out for most of the regular season. Evans will be back on the field less than two months later, a big boost to the Buccaneers’ offense.

Evans, 32, has hauled in 14 passes for 140 yards and a score in four games this season. Last season, Evans posted his 11th consecutive 1,000-yard campaign, tying Jerry Rice for the most consecutive seasons of such. Obviously, that streak will come to an end in 2025.

The Buccaneers, though they sit atop the NFC South, have been riddled with injuries this season on offense. Evans, Chris Godwin, Bucky Irving, Tristan Wirfs, Luke Goedeke, Ben Bredeson, and Jalen McMillan have all missed time. Cody Mauch suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 2.

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As a result of the injuries at wide receiver, Tampa Bay has relied on rookies Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson to make plays in the passing game. The former has 54 receptions for 806 yards and six touchdowns. With McMillan (neck fracture) perhaps ready to make his season debut Thursday, the Buccaneers, for the first time this season, could have their top four wideouts of Evans, Godwin, Egbuka, and McMillan.

“They looked good,” Bowles said of Evans and McMillan. “They looked fresh. I mean, they ran great routes and looked like they never left. Obviously, they haven’t been hit or anything yet, but they looked good in practice.”

Under first-year play caller Josh Grizzard, Tampa Bay has the No. 22 ranked offense in the NFL. They were third in 2024 when healthy and with now Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen calling the plays.

The Buccaneers, after getting off to a 5-1 start, have dropped five of their last seven games. They currently own the tiebreaker over the Carolina Panthers for first place in the NFC South. Tampa Bay plays Carolina twice in the final three weeks of the season.