Mike Evans injury: Buccaneers WR to miss most of the season after breaking collarbone on 'MNF'
Tampa Bay will have to press on without its franchise icon
By
Bryan DeArdo
•
1 min read
Mike Evans, one of the NFL's most durable and productive players for the past decade, will miss most of the remaining games on the Buccaneers' regular season schedule after breaking his collarbone, Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles said following Monday night's 24-9 loss to the Lions.
Evans, who was labeled as questionable prior to the game with a hamstring issue, left the game after nearly coming down with a deep pass from quarterback Baker Mayfield with five minutes to play in the first half. Evans stayed on the ground for several moments before being helped off the field. He was carted into the Buccaneers' locker room shortly thereafter.
A perennial Pro Bowl receiver, injuries have limited Evans to four games this season. He caught just 14 of 28 targets for 140 yards and one touchdown during his first three games of the 2025 season. Evans did not catch any of his four targets on Monday night prior to getting injured.
The 32-year-old Evans tied Jerry Rice's NFL record last year by recording his 11th consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season. Evans' 11 consecutive seasons with 1,000 receiving yards is the most in NFL history to start a career.
Tampa Bay, who trailed Detroit 14-0 at the time of Evans' injury, has dealt with a litany of injuries this season. Along with Evans, the Buccaneers have also dealt with injuries to fellow starters Chris Godwin, Bucky Irving, Emeka Egbuka, Calijah Kancey and Cody Mauch, among others. Despite their injury issues, the Buccaneers won five of their first six games and are in their familiar spot atop the NFC South standings.
Without Evans, Mayfield will have to rely more on fellow wideouts Egbuka, Tez Johnson and Sterling Shepard. Egbuka caught just 4 of 12 targets for 58 yards on Monday while playing through a hamstring injury. Johnson, a rookie seventh-round pick, also caught four passes for 58 yards against the Lions that included his second touchdown catch in as many games.
Evans is one of the most decorated players in Buccaneers history. This summer, he was ranked by the team as the fourth-greatest player in team history as part of the franchise's 50th anniversary celebration.
A valuable member of Tampa Bay's Super Bowl LV championship team, Evans is 10th all-time with 106 career touchdown catches. He is 22nd all-time with 12,824 career receiving yards and 34th all-time with 850 receptions.
