TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Evans suffered a hamstring injury at the end of the first quarter against the Indianapolis Colts and will not return, the team announced.
Evans suffered the injury right as he was outrunning Pierre Desir on a 61-yard touchdown. He attempted to walk it off in the end zone but fell to the ground in pain and was limping significantly as he left the field with the training staff.
Heading into Sunday’s game, Evans had the 1,096 receiving yards — third-most in the league just behind teammate Chris Godwin. His touchdown against the Colts was his eighth of the season, giving the Bucs a 14-10 lead.
Evans’ catch gave him 1,157 receiving yards for the season, making him and Godwin the first pair of Bucs teammates to have 1,100 receiving yards in the same year. Evans also joined Randy Moss this season as the only two NFL players to record 1,000 receiving yards in each of their first six seasons.
With Evans out, the Bucs will rely on Godwin, Breshad Perriman — who led the team with 86 receiving yards last week — and now Justin Watson.