The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost Mike Evans to a hamstring injury in the game against the Bengals on Monday night and the wide receiver could miss time during the rest of the preseason if the injury lingers and this comes as Jameis Winston looked very solid against Cincinnati, taking command of the offense and scoring a rushing touchdown.
Evans did not have a catch in the game against the Bengals and he was targeted twice by Winston before leaving with the injury. According to Pro football Talk, Evans will likely miss the next preseason game even if the injury is not serious, as the team plays again in five days. Evans comes in after a very productive rookie season with 68 catches for 1051 yards and 12 touchdowns and he will be one of the top targets for Winston.
Evans has been targeted five times this preseason, but he has not been able to come down with a catch. Winston looked for Evans deep against Pacman Jones and Dre Kirkpatrick against the Bengals and that is a sight that the Bucs surely will see this season quite a bit. Lovie Smith said after the game that the injury was "minor" and that it wasn't "that serious," according to ESPN.com. Even if Evans misses practice and the next preseason game, he should be okay for the start of the season if the injury doesn't linger.
Winston and the Bucs offense looked much better early on against the Bengals than they did against the Vikings and the team had a scoring drive in the first half. Winston went 8-of-13 in the game and had a rushing touchdowns and Doug Martin also looked good, putting up 57 yards on five carries in the game. Winston was sacked and left the game in the second quarter and gave way to Mike Glennon, who had 121 yards passing and a touchdown.
Check here for more on the Buccaneers, Evans and Winston in the preseason.
UPDATE: per Adam Schefter: "Lovie Smith said WR Mike Evans not expected to play again this preseason due to hamstring injury."
