Mike Evans suffered a really scary injury on Monday night.
The veteran Buccaneers wide receiver reached out for a contested catch down field late in the first half against the Lions on Monday Night Football and didn't get up. The play came as Tampa Bay faced second-and-5 on its 40-yard line. Quarterback Baker Mayfield tossed a deep ball in Evans's direction as Rock Ya-Sin provided tight coverage. Evans almost came down with it but hit the turf hard and the ball popped out. It appeared his head and shoulder both made hard contact.
The 32-year-old remained down on the turf for an extended period of time before being helped off the field.
Video is below.
Mike Evans is injured on this play pic.twitter.com/Mmb2olV7ru
— Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs) October 21, 2025
The official ruling is that Evans suffered a concussion and a right shoulder injury. ESPN's on-air report claimed he was in excruciating pain as he was carted to the back.
Evans had no catches on four targets before exiting the game.
Evans has Hall of Fame numbers
Evans has put together Hall of Fame credentials during his 12-year career. He has topped 1,000 in yards every season, and has 12,824 receiving yards, and 106 touchdowns on 850 career receptions, and ranks 10th all-time in receiving touchdowns.
Through four games in 2025, Evans is well off his career pace. He has 14 receptions for 140 yards and a touchdown. Now with an injury, he will have even more difficulty topping 1,000 yards for the 12th season in a row. His 11 consecutive seasons with 1,000 receiving yards is tied with Jerry Rice for the most all-time.
Evans owns virtually every Tampa Bay receiving record as he's spent his entire career with the Buccaneers. Hopefully his injury isn't as bad as it looked and he won't be out long.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mike Evans Injury: Buccaneers WR Set to Miss Extended Time With Broken Collarbone.
