Monday night didn’t go well for the Buccaneers, who now face an immediate future without their two long-time wide receivers. Chris Godwin is scheduled to undergo ankle surgery, and Mike Evans probably needs some time off too.

While Evans, like his long-time pal, is not in danger of missing the rest of the season, he is expected to miss time. Evans entered the game with a hamstring injury that aggravated in Tampa Bay’s loss to Baltimore. According to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, the Bucs do not plan to place Evans on IR, but it is expected he will likely miss three games.

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Todd Bowles has since said he doesn’t expect Evans to return until after the bye, even though the third-year Tampa Bay HC described the injury as “moderate.” Bucs’ bye comes in Week 11. This would give Evans a month of rest without having to miss the required four games.

Evans, 31, has proven remarkably durable throughout his career; Only once (2019) has he missed more than two games in a season. Even then, the Impact wideout only missed three games. With Godwin also out, the Bucs face a big challenge after a solid start to the season. Godwin suffered a sprained ankle on Monday evening and requires surgery; he is not expected back this season. While this is a big blow for the Bucs, if both Evans and Godwin were out, they would be in rarely explored territory.

The Bucs have largely been able to rely on at least one of these two since Godwin moved into the starting lineup during the 2019 season. Both Evans and Godwin missed the final two games of the 2019 season, and Godwin’s torn ACL in Week 15 of the 2021 season preceded Evans’ absence in a game in Week 16 of that year. The team still had it Antonio Brown And Rob Gronkowski At this point, however. Neither Evans nor Godwin were involved in Brown’s final completed game as a Buccaneer. In addition, a member of the Bucs’ home team was available.

Evans missed two practices last week and completed a limited session to complete the Bucs’ Ravens’ preseason, but he did not make it through the contest in Baltimore. This calls into question the team’s risk management as hamstring injuries are known to be persistent. The Bucs face the Falcons, Chiefs and 49ers in the next three weeks. The game against Atlanta will be crucial as Tampa Bay recently lost a shootout to the Falcons and the rivals sit atop the NFC South at 4-3.

The 31-year-old Evans re-signed to an advanced two-year, $41 million contract shortly before free agency. While Godwin got off to the better start, finishing second in the NFL in yardage, Evans is still playing well. Last year’s TD leader leads the NFL with six this season. Evans caught 26 passes for 335 yards. Evans is known for going 10-for-10 in 1,000-yard seasons. While this isn’t the NFL record for 1,000-yard rushing yards, no one comes close to Evans when it comes to four-figure seasons. This will make a search for No. 11 difficult.

The absence of him and Godwin will certainly be a challenge Baker Mayfieldwho started off well after re-signing to a three-year, $100 million contract a day before the legal tampering period began. The Bucs used a third-round pick Jalen McMillan and have the 2023 sixth-rounder Trey Palmer also as a depth piece. Former Mayfield College teammate Sterling ShepardHowever, leads all non-Evans and Godwin Bucs wideouts with 93 receiving yards. Shepard, who didn’t play a big role in the Giants’ 2023 offense, will soon have to step into a rebound role.