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Is Mike Evans out for the season? When is Mike Evans coming back? The latest Mike Evans injury update and fantasy football outlook heading into Week 8 of 2025.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (collarbone, concussion), unfortunately, might not be able to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards, as he's done every season since he entered the NFL. He already missed three games due to a hamstring injury.
At age 32, his physical capabilities are certainly declining. But more importantly, he hasn't been able to stay healthy -- he missed two games in 2022, three in 2024, and is set to miss much more time than that this season.
But will Evans be out for the season? If not, when will he return? Let's dive into an injury update for No. 13.
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Is Mike Evans Out for the 2025 Season?
While he's not likely to miss the rest of the full season, for fantasy football purposes, he might as well be. Evans was tackled while trying to make a catch against the Detroit Lions last week, and when he crashed into the turf, he was knocked out cold by a concussion and also broke his collarbone.
Here's where #Buccaneers WR Mike Evans is knocked out cold on the turf after slamming his head while trying to make a catch.
As someone who has suffered (still am) from this kind of head injury, I hope this particular injury doesn't change Mike's life. But it might. #CTE pic.twitter.com/sZLLqm6TvO
— Billy Krumb (@ClubhouseCancer) October 21, 2025
It's clear from the video footage that his helmet crashing into the turf at high speed is what caused his brain injury. That normally wouldn't hold him out for two months or longer, though -- it's the clavicle fracture that will do that, but the concussion certainly isn't good.
He should be fully healed from that -- at least in NFL terms -- when his collarbone heals up after surgery. That will hold him out for around eight weeks. That would mean it's almost impossible for him to return until around Week 15 or 16.
Unfortunately, a large source of concussions, both reported and unreported, comes from players' helmets crashing into the turf. It happens on a ton of plays, and sometimes it results in knockout blows, unfortunately.
Mike Evans 2025 Fantasy Football Outlook
Sunday will mark the first time since his rookie year, in 2014, that Evans will miss a game against the New Orleans Saints. He likely would have had a solid game against his divisional rival, too, with cornerback Marshon Lattimore, his nemesis, now with the Washington Commanders.
marshon lattimore owning mike evans
a tradition like no other pic.twitter.com/YpHUrIEV6w
— Trace (@yfntrace) March 26, 2023
As far as fantasy football is concerned, there really is no outlook. If you do make the playoffs, it would be very risky to start him in his first games back, which might be in Week 16 or Week 17. You're better off pivoting to another option for the rest of the season.
If you haven't grabbed Bucs WR Tez Johnson yet, do so. If he's unavailable in your league, maybe you could try to trade for Chris Godwin (fibula) and hope he gets healthy. But Evans' fantasy season in 2025 is effectively over.
Who Should I Start Tool
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Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 8 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Chris Olave, DeVonta Smith, Tee Higgins, Tetairoa McMillan, Stefon Diggs. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 8. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 8 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Week 8 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Chris Olave, DeVonta Smith, Tee Higgins, Tetairoa McMillan, Stefon Diggs. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 8.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool, but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, player news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 8 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 8 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 8 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 8 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Chris Olave, DeVonta Smith, Tee Higgins, Tetairoa McMillan, Stefon Diggs compared to others:
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