On Friday, Bucs interim head coach Harold Goodwin said that wide receiver Mike Evans could play in Week 17. Evans has faced a number of obstacles, including a COVID positive test on Monday. Evans moved through the protocol quickly, returning to the roster on Friday. But the Bucs All-Pro receiver is also dealing with a hamstring injury that caused him to miss last week’s game against the Panthers.

“He was out there a little bit today,” Goodwin said. “Did some individual work and a few things offensively. There’s a chance he may play. At the end of the day it’ll probably be a game-time decision between myself, Jason [Licht] and if B.A. is around he’ll most likely be a part of that decision as well. But Mike looked good today, so hopefully, cross our fingers, he might be out there.”

Evans isn’t the only Bucs wide receiver who might be unavailable this week. Antonio Brown, who just returned from a 9-week absence due to an ankle injury and a suspension, is also uncertain to play. Brown caught 1o passes for 101 yards against the Panthers last week, but his ankle is still not 100 percent.

Bucs WR Antonio Brown – Photo by: USA Today

“I think he might have tweaked it a little bit,” Goodwin said. “I don’t know the severity of it. But he still has a chance to play on Sunday. Obviously he’s no spring chicken either, so we gotta do a great job of taking care of him. In the long run, as we look at this thing, there’s a long way to go to where we’re trying to go. So we just gotta make sure we have all hands on deck when we need them. But [Brown] has a chance to play this weekend as well.”

Brown has missed most of the season, but still has 39 catches for 519 yards and four touchdowns in six games. Meanwhile, Evans is 101 yards away from his eighth consecutive season of 1,000 yards. That would be the most all-time for a receiver to begin their career, breaking Evans’ current record.