Both were listed as limited participants in Tampa Bay’s Tuesday practice, and Bowles added that Evans has shown what it takes for the Bucs to activate him for Thursday’s game, according to FOX Sports.
“They looked good. They looked fresh,” Bowles told reporters on Wednesday. “They ran great routes. It looked like they never left. Obviously they haven’t been hit or anything yet but they looked good in practice.”
Mayfield has found ways to manage the situation and leaned heavily on rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka early in the campaign, but even with the contributions of Egbuka, fellow rookie Tez Johnson and veteran Sterling Shepard, producing without Evans, backup Chris Godwin and McMillan for the majority of the year has undoubtedly been challenging.
The toll of such absences has taken its toll over the past month, a season in which the Buccaneers lost to three playoff teams (New England, Buffalo and the Los Angeles Rams), narrowly beat the Arizona Cardinals and lost to the division-contest Saints last week. Godwin has participated in the last three contests and led the Bucs in receptions in their last two games, but has shown clear signs of rust, throwing an accurate bullet from Mayfield in the end zone in Week 13.
With one month of games remaining and the Buccaneers (7-6) battling the Carolina Panthers (7-6) for the NFC South crown, it’s time for key contributors to make a comeback attempt.