The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were dealt some tough news this morning when it was announced that star wide receiver Mike Evans had been suspended for one game due to his role in instigating a fight with New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore yesterday. Evans has opted to appeal his suspension, but there's a good chance he will miss Tampa's Week 3 contest against the Green Bay Packers, and Bucs head coach Todd Bowles isn't happy with that proposition.
When asked to address Evans' suspension, Todd Bowles said that he doesn't want to see any of his players fight anybody, and that his team will have to adapt to the potential shortage of wide receivers in their upcoming game. It wasn't exactly a vote of confidence for Evans, and it will be interesting to see how Tampa's wide receiver situation plays out over the next few days.
Todd Bowles on Mike Evans' actions that led to his ejection vs. Saints and now a one-game suspension: "We don't want any fighting in our game because we lose a good player. It doesn't help our team. We don't condone that, we don't teach that, we don't want that in our game."
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) September 19, 2022
Bowles on facing Packers at home Sunday without Mike Evans, with injury concerns for Chris Godwin and Julio Jones: "We've got to move forward and try to find a way to win without him. That should be a lesson to all our other players."
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) September 19, 2022
In addition to Evans' suspension, the Buccaneers were without Chris Godwin and Julio Jones for their game against New Orleans. Once Evans was ejected, the Buccaneers offense, which was already at less than full strength entering the day, became even more weakened, and it looks like that could be set to continue into Week 3.
This is obviously less than ideal for the Buccaneers, as their offense hasn't exactly gotten off to the hottest start this season, and taking Tom Brady's top three pass catching targets away from him in an important matchup with one the top teams in the NFC isn't going to help with that. Maybe Evans' appeal will be accepted, but for now, it looks like the Buccaneers could be short-suited at wideout for the second straight game.
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