A quarterback change affects everyone on a team, but it has a particular impact on the team’s receivers because they have to adjust to how a new player throws the ball and runs the offense.
The Giants have made a change this week by benching Daniel Jones and turning to Tommy DeVito, who started six games while Jones was out with a torn ACL last season. That makes him familiar to some of the wideouts, but not the team’s top player at the position.
Rookie Malik Nabers told reporters on Thursday that he didn’t pay much attention to what DeVito and the Giants were doing while he was at LSU last season and he hasn’t had a lot of practice reps with the new starter, but he doesn’t expect that to be an obstacle to getting on the same page.
“I mean I can establish chemistry with anybody, I think,” Nabers said, via a transcript from the team. “I’m able to get open, I’m able to create separation. So, I mean that’s a plus for him for sure. He’s comfortable throwing me the ball.”
This week’s change also means that there will be uncertainty about the future of the quarterback position heading into next season, but Nabers said he’ll be just as confident about playing with whoever winds up with the job.
“No. Like I said before, as long as we can give me the ball, I should be able to make something happen with it,” Nabers said.
DeVito and Nabers will get their first chance to play together against the Buccaneers on Sunday.
Wide receiver Mike Evans continues to look like he’ll be back in the Buccaneers lineup for Sunday’s game against the Giants.
Evans has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury, but he was able to practice on Monday and Wednesday. Wednesday’s practice was a limited one and Evans moved up to full participation on Thursday.
Assuming no setbacks, it seems like a safe bet that he’ll be trying to help the Bucs end their four-game losing streak this weekend.
Cornerback Zyon McCollum (hamstring) missed practice for the second straight day and safety Tykee Smith (knee) was out after practicing on a limited basis Wednesday. Defensive tackle greg Gaines (foot), cornerback Troy Hill (toe), and left tackle Tristan Wirfs (knee, foot) were all limited participants.
Guard Ben Bredeson (shoulder), cornerback Jamel Dean (hamstring), defensive lineman William Gholston (knee), running back Bucky Irving (toe), and wide receiver Jalen McMillan (hamstring) all joined Evans as full participants.
Wide receiver Mike Evans is back on the practice field and moving closer to returning to the Buccaneers lineup after missing three games and most of a fourth with a hamstring injury.
Evans is returning to a team that has lost all four of those games to move from 4-2 to 4-6 as they head into Sunday’s game against the Giants. Quarterback Baker Mayfield called it “huge” for the team to get Evans back because of how his presence changes the way defenses play them on a weekly basis.
It also opens up the door for Evans to make a run at his 11th straight season with 1,000 receiving yards. Evans has 335 yards, so he’d need to average 95 yards per game to reach the milestone and Mayfield said that it will be on everyone’s mind without being their main focal point.
“You guys have been around Mike for long enough now,” Mayfield said, via the team’s website. “The streak, yeah, it’s important to us, but he cares about winning. He’s a huge part of this offense when he’s in there, so I think that will come naturally. But I’ve been in a situation where you kind of force-feed the ball to a guy, and that’s not how this offense works, especially. Staying true to reads. The defense dictates where the ball needs to go; when we have our one-on-one matchups with him we need to take advantage of it.”
The odds for both the Evans streak and a playoff bid may be long shots right now, but good numbers for Evans will likely help the team’s bid to make it back to the postseason so it could still wind up as a win-win in Tampa.
Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans returned to practice Wednesday, getting limited work. The team is hopeful he can get back on the field this week after missing three games with a hamstring injury.
Tampa Bay has gone 0-3 without Evans.
“From what I can see, [he’s] good, and just talking to him, he seems really positive about it,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said Wednesday, via Scott Smith of the team website. “You guys know: Mike’s a pro. He’s going to do everything he can to get back out there with us and fight for this team as we take it one game at a time.”
Evans’ NFL-record 10 consecutive seasons of 1,000 yards to open a career is in serious jeopardy. He has only 26 receptions for 336 yards and six touchdowns with seven games remaining.
Nose tackle Greg Gaines (foot), cornerback Troy Hill (toe) and quarterback Zyon McCollum (hamstring) did not practice Wednesday. Safety Tykee Smith (knee) and left tackle Tristan Wirfs (knee/foot) were limited.
After Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans left the team’s Week Seven loss to the Ravens with a hamstring injury, word was that he was expected to miss three games with a targeted return in Week 12 against the Giants.
It looks like that plan remains in place. Evans did some work when the team returned from their bye week on Monday and reports from the open portion of Tampa’s practice on Wednesday say that he is participating again.
The team’s injury report for the day will bring more information about how much he’s participating, but his presence on the field is a significant step in his return to the lineup for the NFC South club.
The Bucs lost all three games they played without Evans and will need to go on a winning streak to harbor real hopes of passing the Falcons in the division because the Falcons swept the season series between the teams. Evans’s presence wouldn’t guarantee they go on that kind of run, but it would make it a lot likelier.
