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TAMPA, Fla .– In a cruel twist of fate on the very next game after becoming the first NFL player to register 1,000 yards in each of his first seven seasons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans sustained an injury to the left knee his status for the playoffs in jeopardy.
After being examined at Raymond James Stadium, Evans was taken for an MRI, according to two sources familiar with the situation.
With 24 seconds left of the first quarter, the triple Pro Bowler cut inside to catch what would have been a 10-yard touchdown and hyper-extended his left knee, with the ball and Evans both falling in the ground, where he sat for several seconds writhing in pain before being helped off the pitch, unable to put weight on his left leg. He was taken to the locker room in a cart. He was then excluded from the match.
A game earlier, the scoreboard read “1,000” with the years 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 – all the years that Evans finished with 1,000 receiving yards.
Evans needed 40 yards for the record on Sunday and caught a 20 yard pass from Tom Brady to make it 46, with fans rising quickly.
With 10 wins, the Bucs had already clinched a playoff berth heading into Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons, but are battling for the fifth seed in the playoffs. Coach Bruce Arians said last week that he hopes Evans could then have clinched the record so he can sit him down in Week 17.
Now his status in the future is uncertain. Evans has been the Bucs’ No.1 wide receiver for several years, frequently drawing the attention of opposing defenses with shadow cover and double cover. He was also arguably Brady’s most valuable target in the quarterback’s first year at Tampa Bay, earning 13 touchdown passes in the lead.
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