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When will Mike Evans return and play? Will Mike Evans be back again this season? Read the latest Mike Evans injury updates and return date for Week 5 (2025).
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (hamstring) unfortunately is dealing with another hamstring injury this season. Last year, he missed three games with a hamstring issue, but was able to return and play the rest of the season.
Of course, Evans is 32 years old now, so his body simply isn't able to handle punishment like it used to. Older players dealing with aliments shouldn't be much of a surprise at all. But that's little solace for fantasy managers who drafted him.
Evans was generally selected inside the first six rounds and started in the vast majority of leagues, as he should have been. He has been a bit disappointing production-wise this season, but when will he return and be back for the 2025 season?
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Mike Evans Injury Update
Evans suffered the injury in Week 3 and was subsequently ruled out from his Week 4 contest. The good news is that he wasn't placed on injured reserve -- typically, teams do this when they expect a player to miss at least four games.
Needless to say, we shouldn't expect Evans to miss more than three more contests. But he might return even earlier than that. He stated that this year's hamstring aliment wasn't as bad as what he had last year, when he missed three contests.
#Bucs WR Mike Evans, who left Sunday’s dramatic win with a hamstring injury, had an MRI that revealed he’s out multiple weeks, per The Insiders. But it’s not as bad as last year when he missed four weeks. Solid news. pic.twitter.com/jtPCXVFoUv
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 23, 2025
Evans missed four weeks last year, though, because he had a bye week in the middle of his absence. With this in mind, it makes sense to project him to miss three contests, yet again, though it's possible he could return after missing next week. But it's highly unlikely he plays in Week 5.
Notably, Evans has apparently dealt with some sort of hamstring injury every year since 2019. His struggles could be indicative of some chronic health issues, and it's not out of the realm of possibility that he aggravates the injury yet again later on.
Mike Evans Fantasy Football Outlook
Evans was frustratingly outscored in each of his contests by rookie WR Emeka Egbuka, and with fellow WR Chris Godwin (ankle) having made his season debut in Week 5, it's possible that Evans will simply have less work lined up for him this season than he did last season, even if Godwin hadn't missed time.
32-year-old receivers tend to see a decline in their production, even those that are likely destined for the Hall of Fame. Evans' separation numbers aren't quite what they were last year, and that shouldn't be much of a surprise. But he is still playing well.
Mike Evans is the current NFL's active leader in touchdown receptions with 106!
— TB EGO (@TomBradyEgo) September 21, 2025
Evans should remain the team's best red zone threat. Perhaps the presence of both Egbuka and Godwin will stress opposing defenses more, as they've often slid their coverages Evans' way. That's a big reason Egbuka has been so successful this season.
The longtime veteran is also still tied to a passing offense that's functioning very well. Quarterback Baker Mayfield has continued playing lights out even with multiple starters injured. The offensive line has struggled at times, but Mayfield has held things together.
When Evans returns he'll still be a must-start, at least in the flex spot, in PPR leagues with 12 or more teams. Beyond that, he's a fringe flex start with upside.
Who Should I Start Tool
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Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 5 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Emeka Egbuka, Deebo Samuel Sr., Xavier Worthy, Zay Flowers, Ladd McConkey, A.J. Brown, Tee Higgins, Chris Godwin. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 5. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 5 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 5 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Emeka Egbuka, Deebo Samuel Sr., Xavier Worthy, Zay Flowers, Ladd McConkey, A.J. Brown, Tee Higgins, Chris Godwin. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 5.
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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, players news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
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Popular Week 5 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 5 (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 5 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 5 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Emeka Egbuka, Deebo Samuel Sr., Xavier Worthy, Zay Flowers, Ladd McConkey, A.J. Brown, Tee Higgins, Chris Godwin compared to others:
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