The Tampa Bay Buccaneers only had 2 players on the roster make the Pro Bowl Games roster when the names were first announced on January 2 — a shockingly low number for one of the NFL’s best offenses.
Tampa Bay landed a third player in the Pro Bowl when wide receiver Mike Evans was named as a replacement on the NFC roster for Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, who is out with an injury.
The Pro Bowl Games will take place from January 30 to February 2 in Orlando, Florida. Buccaneers offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs and defensive tackle Vita Vea are the team’s other 2 Pro Bowlers.
From Buccaneers.com: “Evans’ six Pro Bowl selections ties him with Bucs legend Mike Alstott for the most by an offensive player in franchise history. Only Hall of Fame defenders Derrick Brooks (11) and Warren Sapp (seven) have more. Evans has been voted into the Pro Bowl in five of the last seven seasons.”
The Buccaneers’ season ended with a 23-20 loss to the Washington Commanders in the NFC Wild Card Round on January 12.
Evans Tied Jerry Rice’s NFL Record in 2024
Evans tied Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice’s NFL record of 11 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in the final seconds of the Buccaneers’ playoff-clinching, 27-19 win over the New Orleans Saints in the regular-season finale.
Evans finished the season with 1,004 receiving yards — he also cashed in on a $3 million bonus when he tied the record.
Tying Rice’s record seemed almost totally out of reach after Evans missed all of 3 games and most of another game with a hamstring injury against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 7.
He returned and played some of the best football of his career to lead the Buccaneers back from the brink of elimination — they were 4-6 when he came back to the roster — to end the season with a 10-7 record and make the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.
Evans, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft, has never had an NFL season where he didn’t have at least 1,000 receiving yards.
“#Bucs WR Mike Evans has now started his NFL career with 11 straight 1,000-yard seasons, extending his own record,” The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov wrote on his official X account. “No player in NFL history has had more than 6. Elite.”
Lamb, Cowboys Seemed to Bottom Out in 2024
Lamb’s season ended with 2 games remaining in the regular season with a shoulder injury to cap off the most tumultuous season of his NFL career, and one that came in the wake of Lamb signing a 4-year, $136 million contract extension in August 2024.
Despite that adversity Lamb still made his third consecutive NFL All-Pro Team and third consecutive Pro Bowl with 101 receptions for 1,194 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns, but the Cowboys went 7-10 after three consecutive 12-5 seasons. Lamb also lost his starting quarterback, Dak Prescott, to a season-ending hamstring injury in Week 9.
The Cowboys’ saga took another interesting twist when team owner Jerry Jones let head coach Mike McCarthy’s contract run out and promoted offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to head coach on January 24 — by far the most derided hire of the latest head coaching style.
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Buccaneers WR Mike Evans Steps in For $136 Million Cowboys Star