Is Mike Evans playing today? Exploring Buccaneers WR's status for Week 10 clash vs 49ers

Mike Evans has missed the last couple of weeks battling a hamstring injury after he injured it in the Buccaneers' loss against the Ravens in Week 7 of the 2024 NFL season. That has coincided with their toughest matchups this season.

After playing the Ravens, they faced the Falcons, who looked revitalized with Kirk Cousins running the offense. Next, they faced the Chiefs last week and took the undefeated defending Super Bowl champions to overtime, before ending up on the wrong side of the coin toss and the result. Just like that, they are now 4-5 for the season.

Fans would have hoped that Mike Evans' injury layoff was short because of how durable he has been throughout his NFL career. Since joining the league in 2014, the fewest amount of matches he has featured in a season is 13 back in 2019. He has never had a season where he has accumulated less than 1,000 yards.

This year, Mike Evans had 335 yards before getting injured. But even in that time, he notched up six touchdowns, showing his importance to the Buccaneers. Even now, he is second among all players with the most receiving touchdowns, with just Ja'Marr Chase ahead of him.

It was his penchant for getting into the endzone that ended up backfiring in Week 7. He caught the first touchdown of the game and seemed to end up reaggravating his hamstring injury that he was already carrying into the game. But he ended up carrying on and the next time he tried to catch the ball for a score, he fell and could not get back up to return. He has not seen the field since.

Is Mike Evans playing today?

Buccaneers fans might be hoping that with Mike Evans missing a couple of weeks, he will be well-rested to return in Week 10 against the 49ers. This is another of those tough games that they would have penciled in at the start of the season but San Francisco comes into this match with a 4-4 record and ripe for the picking.

Mike Evans is also not on the injured reserve list, which would have ruled him out for four weeks and one could presume that his recovery time, therefore, would be lesser than that period. This is already the third week since he aggravated his hamstring. But the wide receiver did not practice on any day leading up to this game and has officially been ruled out. It is a big blow to Tampa Bay, especially with Chris Godwin out for the season.

How to watch San Francisco 49ers vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 10?

The Buccaneers must now find a way to win in Week 10 against the 49ers without Mike Evans. They have lost their last three games after beginning the season with a 4-2 record. Admittedly, those losses have come against tough opposition. The Ravens have only improved with the addition of Derrick Henry and they were the top seed in the AFC in 2023. The Falcons are resurgent, and the Chiefs are the best team of this era and have a perfect record in 2024.

Next up, Tampa Bay faces San Francisco, the NFC top seed and Super Bowl runners-up from last year. This is not an easy matchup but with Atlanta already two games ahead of them, this is must-win territory for Todd Bowles' team. The 49ers have struggled and have a 4-4 record but know they are just a game off the pace in their division behind the 4-5 Cardinals. The details of the match are given below.

• Day & Date: Sunday, November 10, 2024
• Time: 1 p.m. ET
• Location: Tampa, Florida
• Venue: Raymond James Stadium
• TV channel: FOX
• Live stream: FuboTV

This should be a fascinating matchup with both teams arguably at a pivot point in their seasons.