Buccaneers upgrade Mike Evans injury status for Sunday vs. Saints

Mike Evans seemed certain to miss Sunday’s game against the Saints, but the Buccaneers have upgraded his status.

Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers debut seemed destined to be without one of his key pieces, as wide receiver Mike Evans (hamstring) was listed as doubtful for Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. But on Saturday morning, the team upgraded him to questionable.

The status upgrade is notable, as Evans got in a limited practice on Friday after sitting out Wednesday and Thursday. But Evans is still in line to be a game-time decision for Sunday’s 4:25 ET time start, as head coach Bruce Arians has suggested all week. Evans has simply gone from highly unlikely to play to a coin-flip proposition.

If he is able to play, Evans will surely be on a limited snap count. He missed the end of last season with a hamstring issue, so this new injury is extra notable with that in mind.

Who would step up in Mike Evans’ stead?

Chris Godwin had a breakout season in 2019, and he would be in line for more targets with Evans out or limited. He also may see more of Saints’ cornerback Marcus Lattimore when Evans is not on the field.

An intriguing player who would see more snaps on Sunday is Scotty Miller. A sixth-round pick out of Bowling Green in 2019, he had just 13 catches for 200 yards as a rookie. But he has notably earned some praise from Brady.

“He’s another great, consistent, dependable, trustworthy player,” Brady said of Miller. “Whatever we talk about, he takes it to the next practice and his play is showing everybody that he’s earned a big role. You can trust where he’s going to be, he makes the plays when they come his way. He’s really been fun to work with and fun to see grow from the minute I got here.”

Evans’ fantasy owners obviously have a keen interest in his status. It’s likely to come right down to when the Buccaneers have to declare inactives.