Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans suffered a "minor" hamstring injury in the team's second preseason outing against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night.
Not taking any chances with their star second-year receiver, head coach Lovie Smith and company have decided to shut him down for the final two games of the exhibition slate:
While Evans will be ready to go Week 1, there has to be some concern over the injury. Hamstring injuries tend to linger, and it remains to be seen whether giving him the next two weeks off will put Evans in the situation to overcome that well-known hurdle. At 6'5" and 231, Evans has a massive frame that will test his hamstring once he does return next month. There's also something to be said about building in-game chemistry with first-year quarterback Jameis Winston. Evans' best opportunity of doing just that would have been in the Bucs third preseason game this week.
A top-10 pick last year, Evans put up 68 receptions for over 1,000 yards and 12 scores as a rookie. He finished the season as the 10th best fantasy receiver in the NFL.
Prior to Tampa Bay's announcement, Evans ADP stood at 26, which made him an early third-round pick and Top-11 fantasy receiver off the board in standard 12-team redraft leagues.