The Tampa Bay Buccaneers appear to be close to getting wide receiver Mike Evans back from injury.
Evans has been on the shelf since he suffered a broken clavicle in Week 7 that landed him on injured reserve.
Evans was first eligible to come off injured reserve last week, but that did not happen.
However, after an update from head coach Todd Bowles on Monday, it seems as though Evans' return could come sooner than later.
Will Mike Evans return in Week 14?
Evans is unlikely to play this week, but head coach Todd Bowles revealed he may return to practice, which is a huge step toward getting him back.
"Bucs HC Todd Bowles said 'it's a possibility' that Mike Evans could return to practice this week," ESPN's Adam Schefter relayed.
If the Bucs go ahead and designate Evans to return from IR this week, the move will likely come on Wednesday, and from there Tampa Bay will have 21 days to activate Evans or else he has to remain on IR for the rest of the season.
We don't think Evans will play immediately, though, as he'll likely need more time to get re-acclimated after having missed a month and a half of action.
That said, we wouldn't put it past a veteran like Evans to be ready to go right away, so we're certainly not ruling that out.
Evans might not be the only wide receiver the Bucs get back soon. Fellow wideout Jalen McMillan, who suffered a neck injury in the preseason, is close to getting cleared to practice.
"He's been running. It's just a matter of him putting on a helmet and seeing where he is strength-wise with his neck," Bowles said of McMillan, according to FOX Sports' Greg Auman. "He'll start doing more this week, and we'll see exactly what — whether it's individual or whether it's some more things this week as well — but he will start moving around."
As the postseason approaches, the Buccaneers are finally getting healthy. The team welcomed back running back Bucky Irving in Week 13, and wide receiver Chris Godwin in the weeks before that.
Tampa Bay is in first place in the NFC South entering Week 14, but the Carolina Panthers are just one game back in the loss column.
Safe to say, the Bucs could use all hands on deck to get to the playoffs, and it looks like they'll soon have them.
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