On a short week with a condensed schedule ahead of the Thursday Night Football matchup with the Atlanta Falcons, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could be getting some much-needed reinforcements on offense. Head Coach Todd Bowles stated that both Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan are "in play" for Thursday against Atlanta and the staff will monitor the progress of Tristan Wirfs this week.
"Short week but they did not play yesterday so we will continue to work them in and we will see where we are on Wednesday," said Bowles of Wirfs and Evans.
Wirfs, the Bucs' starting All-Pro left tackle, missed the Week 14 matchup with an oblique injury and could be back on Thursday in prime-time. He anchors the offensive line and sets the tone in the trenches. Wirfs is an explosive drive blocker with tremendous core strength and is speedy out of his stance. He practiced in a limited fashion last Friday and would help solidify the line against the club's division rival.
Wide receivers Evans and McMillan began their 21-day period to be activated from injured reserve on Wednesday of last week. Evans has missed the last six games due to a broken collarbone suffered in Detroit in Week Seven, and he also missed three earlier games with a hamstring injury. He made NFL history by surpassing 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first 11 seasons but has been limited to 14 catches for 140 yards in 2025. Evans is the team's deep threat and high-point, back-shoulder catch specialist. He routinely commands double teams, which creates advantageous one-on-one matchups for teammates. McMillan, who emerged in the second half of his 2024 rookie campaign, has not suited up this season due to a neck injury suffered during the preseason matchup with the Steelers. Both were limited in practice last week but are inching closer towards a return to action.
