Bucs WR Mike Evans takes a major step towards his return from injury on Wednesday, and he’s not the only one
The Bucs are getting healthy as they begin the home stretch towards another division title.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are getting healthier at just the right time as they enter a crucial stretch to try and lock up their fifth straight NFC South title.
According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, wide receivers Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan are starting their 21-day practice windows on Wednesday to return from injured reserve.
Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan returning to practice on Wednesday
Evans suffered a broken clavicle in the Bucs’ 24-9 loss to the Detroit Lions back on October 20 on Monday Night Football. The injury was expected to keep him out potentially up until the final weeks of the regular season.
But Evans has apparently shrunk that timetable in his recovery, and if he’s able to return, would have missed just five games. We’ll see what Todd Bowles says this week and how much he practices, but Rapoport states that he now has a clean bill of health.
And Evans isn’t the only potential impact player working his way back, with McMillan also set to return to practice. McMillan has been dealing with a lingering neck injury from the preseason that’s required a brace, and that’s obviously a kind of injury that you can’t rush back from. Like Evans, we’ll see how things progress this week in practice for him, but he does have 21 days from his activation to work towards a return before he has to go on season-ending injured reserve.
The return of Evans and McMillan could be a major benefit to the Bucs’ passing game just when they need it. The Bucs’ next three games are against New Orleans, Atlanta, and Carolina. If Tampa Bay wins all three of those games, they would lock up the NFC South once again.
Tampa Bay’s passing game has been a bit disjointed since the team’s win in Seattle, so the return of Evans and McMillan, as well as Chris Godwin continuing to round into form, could signal the return of the explosive Bucs passing attack as we know it, and right at the perfect time.