Should I drop Mike Evans for fantasy football Week 8? Is Mike Evans a safe player to cut? Read the fantasy football waivers outlook.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (concussion, clavicle) suffered a major injury and was pulled from the game in his Week 7 loss to the Detroit Lions.
Evans previously missed three contests with a hamstring injury, and over the last few years, he's dealt with several ailments that have caused him to miss plenty of playing time.
Evans is likely to miss more times, but should you drop the longtime veteran or should you hang on to him in your IR spot?
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Should I Drop Mike Evans in Fantasy Football?
At this point, probably. Evans broke his collarbone and suffered a concussion while being tackled to the ground on a diving catch attempt in Monday night's game. He appeared to be knocked unconscious, hardly moving or responding to the world around him.
He seemed very slow to wake up, and it took quite a while to get him onto his feet and walk him off the field. He was, of course, quickly ruled out for the rest of the game. And it appears that his season might be over -- at least for the regular season.
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
You can watch the full sequence above. It might take quite a bit of time for him to recover from the concussion -- some people are simply never the same mentally after massive blows to the head like this. But the broken clavicle will probably require surgery to correct.
Even when he returns, he'll be a 32-year-old wideout with a very long injury history. His career could be quickly winding down, and he hinted at retirement after this season.
Who Should I Pick Up for Fantasy Football?
If you're in a deeper league, you could add and stash Houston Texans wide receiver Jaylin Noel. He had his best performance of the season, catching four passes for 77 yards. In the absence of WR Nico Collins (concussion), who's likely to miss at least one week of play, Noel could have an expanded role.
Stroud finds his rookie Jaylin Noel downfield to get in scoring position before the half
HOUvsSEA on ESPN
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/UHtaceOlcb— NFL (@NFL) October 21, 2025
Atlanta Falcons WR Darnell Mooney returned from his hamstring injury and immediately reminded the football community that he's a good WR. While many fantasy managers who drafted Drake London aren't happy about this, Mooney deserves his flowers for being a good separator and great pass-catcher.
As a speculative stash, you could grab Chicago Bears wideout Luther Burden III. He's inexplicably struggled to get playing time, but he's better than his surface-level statistics would suggest. And he's a great fit for an offense with a quarterback with as poor accuracy as Caleb Williams.
Luther Burden III bull case (credit @ffdataroma) seems to be growing stronger. My favorite waiver add.
-Elite offensive head coach
-Post-bye bump in production
-Williams' continued accuracy struggles, especially downfield could benefit Burden, who was drafted for his elite… pic.twitter.com/KuF3j2J61Y— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) October 14, 2025
Who Should I Pickup Tool
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2025 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on players like Rico Dowdle, Michael Carter, Kimani Vidal, Nick Chubb, Brian Robinson Jr., Trevor Etienne, Keaton Mitchell, Bam Knight. They are some of the most common searches for 2025 fantasy football waiver wire pickups.
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Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2025 for Kendrick Bourne, Tre Tucker, Luther Burden III, Jaylin Noel, Kayshon Boutte, Jayden Higgins:
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