Emotional Mike Evans 'super excited' to be back on the field with Buccaneers

Rick Stroud, Tampa Bay Times on Dec 17, 2025

Published in Football

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TAMPA, Fla. — When Mike Evans crumpled to the turf eight weeks ago at Ford Field in Detroit, his collarbone fractured and his head clouded by a concussion, the belief hit harder than the pain: his season might be over.

With it, Evans feared, went his streak of 11 consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons. And since he’s in the final year of his contract with the Bucs, it could be perhaps the closing chapter of his career with the only franchise he has ever known.

“I thought the game was going to be taken away,” Evans said Wednesday. “I thought I was going to be done for the season, and to be back out there, I worked really hard to get back. The training staff did a really great job to get me back.”

Evans announced his return last Thursday as only he could, leaping high over Falcons defensive back Cobee Bryant and ripping a pass from his hands. After crashing to the turf, the Bucs receiver rose to his feet and began pumping his arms, firing up the crowd at Raymond James Stadium.

The third-quarter play gained 45 yards, but it represented much more.

“You’re always excited when you make a big play to help your team, but just to feel the crowd again, I’m just trying to get everybody amped up,” Evans said.

“I usually get hyped sometimes, but this game it was my mission to go out there and just try and bring the energy and juice, because I know how serious this is, and then missing that time, you know how precious the game can be.”

Evans finished with six catches for 132 yards in the 29-28 loss despite not having played for 52 days. Still, he said, he should’ve contributed more after being targeted 12 times.

“I had an OK game,” he said. “Yardage-wise, I did all right, but there were a few more plays I could’ve made. But it felt good to be back. I wish we could’ve won that game, but it was good to be back.”

When the Bucs defense blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter, allowing the Falcons to convert on fourth-and-14 after facing third and 28, Evans stormed off the field, furious and repeating a popular refrain: “Third-and-28! Third-and-28!”

“I was extra emotional my first game back,“ he said. ”We lost the game as a team. It was just third and 28 was the last thing that happened, and it stuck in my brain. But we’ve got to finish that game on offense, obviously. Twenty-eight points isn’t good enough. But we know what we’ve got to do to fix it."

With Evans out of the lineup for much or all of the previous seven games, the Bucs went 2-5 after a 5-1 start. It wasn’t a coincidence. Tampa Bay’s offense is so reliant on him, it’s hard to score points if the 2014 first-round pick isn’t playing.

Evans said he felt the Bucs (7-7), battling the Panthers (7-7) for first place in the NFC South, should have scored enough points to pull completely away from the Falcons (5-9).

“As an offense, especially with the amount of talented players we have, we want to go out there and put up way more than that,” he said. “Especially after you watch film and see how much meat we left on the bone. It’s unacceptable for an offense of this caliber.”

Not only was Evans back in the lineup Thursday, for the first time all season the Bucs had their full complement of receivers: Evans, Chris Godwin, Jalen McMillan and Emeka Egbuka.

“Unlimited potential for our young receivers,” Evans said. “When I leave this game soon, I’m going to be happy with the receiver room that’s left in Tampa and excited to watch them have a great career and carry on the torch.”

Evans, 32, is in the final year of a contract that pays him $20.5 million per year. His string of 11 straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons is done, but how much longer will his career continue?

“I haven’t really even thought about it, honestly,” Evans said. “I’m just going wait until the season is over. I’m just trying to focus as much as I can on the season. Obviously, we’re human and we’ve got to think about the future. But I’ve really been locked in on helping this team make the playoffs.

”... I’m not that smart to be phrasing things in cryptic phrases. But it will be ‘soon,’ even if it’s three or four more years I play. I’ve played 12. ... We’ll see. I mean, time will tell. I don’t know. I’m really trying to focus on this season and make the most out of it."

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