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Mike Evans Injury: Will Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR have big day?

By Kevin Parvizi

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The Week 1 matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans was masterfully set up by the NFL, as the league is allowing two hopeful franchise quarterbacks to spar against each other in their regular season debuts. Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota were the No. 1 and No. 2 overall picks in this year’s draft, and both franchises are counting on these two to be their saviors. There are varying opinions out there when it comes to answer the question, “Which one will be better?” and the better performer on Sunday might not be the better player overall.

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Mike Evans, Vincent Jackson, and Doug Martin help give Winston a distinct advantage when it comes to supporting cast, and Evans, in particular, has a chance to produce some jaw-dropping numbers against the Titans. As a first-round rookie, Evans put up a robust 70.1 receiving yards per game despite catching passes from Josh McCown, so with Winston constituting an upgrade, we can only imagine what kind of numbers he’ll put up in his second season with an even bigger role in the offense.

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There was some doubt regarding Evans’s Week 1 status against the Titans for the 1:00 p.m. ET kick-off, because the former Texas A&M beast was unable to practice on Wednesday and Thursday. This made him look questionable at best for Sunday’s game, because there were already worries that his absences from the team’s final two preseason games were indicative of a hamstring injury that would linger into Week 1.

Thankfully, that isn’t the case. Evans, as per the Tampa Tribune’s Roy Cummings, returned to practice today, thus making him a game-time decision at worst. After seeing that Buccaneers head coach Lovie Smith stated that his star receiver “looked good” at practice today, we can look past the “questionable” listing and assume that he’ll likely play.

In fact, I would be surprised if the Buccaneers brought Evans back to the practice field on Friday, only to hold him out of the regular season opener. This is a huge game for the Buccaneers organization, and it’s not just because they’ll want to prove that they’ve built a better situation for Winston to succeed as a rookie than the Titans system for Mariota. They are supposed to be a better team than the Titans this season, and Smith and Jason Licht clearly don’t want the pressure of starting the season on the wrong foot.

The Titans pass rush looks scary with Derrick Morgan, Jurrell Casey, and offseason signing Brian Orakpo, but their secondary will be easy to exploit. With Jason McCourty out with an injury, the Titans only proven cornerback is Perrish Cox, and, even then, there are questions as to whether or not last year’s veteran breakout wonder for the San Francisco 49ers is legit.

Both Evans and Jackson have the speed and size to dominate the Titans defensive backs vertically, and it seems like there are only two things that can prevent Evans from having a huge performance. The first is if his hamstring injury holds him back, and the second is if Winston makes too many mistakes in his regular season debut.

Considering the fact that Evans had a stretch of three straight games in 2014 in which he caught 124, 125, and 209 receiving yards against the Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons, and Washington Redskins, he looks set to make good on another favorable matchup on paper.

Aug 29, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (3) gets pressured against the Cleveland Browns during the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Evans is the definition of a mis-match with his 6’5″, 231-pound frame and 4.53 wheels, and it will be exciting to see what he’ll do to start the new season now that he has a better QB and a real offensive coordinator on his side. Oh, and receiving a resurgent season from Martin would go a long way to help setting up vertical passes for Evans and V-Jax, so that’s another storyline to watch for against a Titans defense that will likely have just one starting-caliber corner on the field.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have officially listed Evans as questionable, so there’s no guarantee that he will play. Moreoever, the Bucs could even limit him out of fear of aggravation, but, again, I don’t anticipate that happening in the opener This is a winnable game for them, and if they really wanted to play it safe with their best player on offense, then they would have simply held him out of practice today.

As per the Tampa Bay Times’s Greg Auman, Evans is planning on being out there. But, well, of course he is. The decision will ultimately be Smith’s to make, and the Bucs could limit him in favor of Jackson, who has more than enough talent to torch the Titans secondary with equal efficiency.

I think four receptions for 60 yards is a safe floor for Evans if he does play, and his ceiling would be about six receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown. If you are playing him in fantasy football, then you are hoping for him to spring a big play or a touchdown to make it worth the risk of him being limited (or perhaps even not playing at all, since Smith could just be playing coy with us by saying that the No. 1 receiver “looked good”).

As far as I’m concerned, Evans is locked in as WR2, simply because he has so much upside against a Titans secondary that looks burn-prone and doesn’t have anyone who can handle him or V-Jax in the end zone.

Next: Is Jameis A Legit Fantasy Play This Week?

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