Will Mike Evans return in Week 12? Blaine Grisak breaks down the fantasy football implications.
Game day update: Mike Evans is expected to be active and Ian Rapoport is reporting he should have no restrictions on Sunday.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been without their top-two wide receivers for the past three weeks. However, they could be getting Mike Evans back in Week 12 before they play the New York Giants. The Buccaneers remain behind in the NFC South, but with the Falcons in a midseason skid, the return of Evans could provide a spark to make a late-season run at the division title.
According to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk, Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans will officially be listed as questionable with a hamstring injury. Evans was limited in practice on Wednesday, but elevated to a full practice designation on Thursday. However, he was once again a limited participant on Friday.
With that said, there is optimism that Evans will play in Week 12 against the Giants. Head coach Todd Bowles told the media that Evans will play Sunday “as long as he’s healthy and fresh,” per ESPN’s Jenna Laine. Said Bowles, “If he needs to be in there, he’ll be in there. But we’ll get him out when we have to.” Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports added earlier this week that Evans, who has been out since Week 7 with a hamstring injury is planning to play on Sunday against the Giants. Evans is a player to monitor on Sunday morning as the Buccaneers play the Giants at 1 p.m.
It shouldn’t be any surprise that Mike Evans would want to play on Sunday against the Giants. In six career games against the Giants, Evans has averaged 109 yards with at least five receptions in each game. He has eight total touchdowns, scoring in five of the six games against the Giants.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield will welcome Evans back into the lineup. The Buccaneers have lost each of their last four games and have ranked just 16th in EPA per dropback. During the first seven weeks of the season, the Buccaneers had the fifth best passing attack via EPA. Since Mayfield arrived in Tampa Bay, he has developed a strong connection with Mike Evans. Prior to the hamstring injury, Evans was the WR15.
While Evans has been a boom-bust candidate in 2024 with four performances of under 10 PPR fantasy points, he won’t have much competition for targets. Chris Godwin remains out with an ACL injury. With Evans and Godwin out of the lineup, tight end Cade Otton led Buccaneers pass catchers with a 25.5 percent target share. The next closest player was Jalen McMillan with a target share of 14 percent. Prior to the hamstring injury, Evans saw 17.6 percent of the team’s targets in the passing game and that will likely go up.
Hamstring injuries can be tricky, but Evans seems to have played it safe and made sure that he is 100 percent ready when he does return to the field. The Giants defense has been respectable defending wide receivers this season, but Evans remains a WR1 candidate in Week 12.
