Rehab timetable.
This is a rather optimistic timeline.
Now Bucs coach Todd Bowles has been pretty consistent in the immediate aftermath of Mike Evans’ injury saying the Bucs would likely have to wait until the “end of the year” to make a diagnosis at that point whether he could return for the playoffs.
But what did Bowles mean by “end of the year?” End of December or end of the regular season.
Joe asked Bowles about this yesterday and Bowles said end of regular season.
Just moments after Bowles spoke to the local pen and mic club, not even enough time for the Sage of Tampa Bay sports, Ira Kaufman, to wolf down a cheeseburger, a scrawl appeared on NFL Network saying Ian Rapoport reports Evans will have surgery this week and an eight-week rehab is expected.
And eight-week rehab puts a target date of Dec. 17 on the table for Evans. That would mean the Week 16 game at Carolina could be in play, the third-last game of the season.
Joe does not know this but he’d bet the cost of an oil change at Bill Currie Ford that Rapoport’s source is Evans’ agent.
Yesterday, Bowles was much more cautious.
“It’s going to be touch-and-go,” Bowles said about Evans’ availability for the playoffs. “We’ll see as we get toward the end of the year.
“It’s definitely going to be the end of the year – hopefully it’s before that. If we get to the playoffs and go from there, it might be in the playoffs depending on how it heals.”
Of course, a lot of this is speculation at this point since we are not sure the exact date Evans will have his surgery. And who knows what doctors may find when they open him up?
Now, Joe’s focus isn’t Evans, but instead turns to Chris Godwin, Luke Goedeke and Bucky Irving.
#Bucs WR Mike Evans is set for surgery this week to repair his broken collarbone, sources say, a clean break that should have Evans back in eight weeks or fewer. pic.twitter.com/3tBhmvp8LO
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 22, 2025