Mike Evans won't play Week 16 due to hamstring injury

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans won't play Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, head coach Bruce Arians announced Friday, according to the Tampa Bay Times' Joey Knight.

A hamstring injury forced Evans out of last week's loss to the New Orleans Saints, and he finished the contest with just one catch for 14 yards.

The 28-year-old leads Tampa Bay with 11 touchdown catches through 14 appearances this season to go along with 899 yards and 64 receptions.

The Bucs have suffered key losses on offense due to injuries lately, including running back Leonard Fournette and wide receiver Chris Godwin - Tom Brady's favorite target this year.

With Evans and Godwin out, Brady will likely increase his targets to tight end Rob Gronkowski and wideout Antonio Brown, who the team expects to be available versus Carolina after serving a three-game suspension.

"Tom's Tom," Arians said Friday about his offensive unit for Week 16. "He's going to find the guys and get the right guys. The guys worked hard this week, so he's got a lot of confidence in all of them."

Arians also ruled out safety Antoine Winfield Jr., who's dealing with a foot injury.

Copyright (C) 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.