Team news: Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Page 58

HC Bruce Arians announces WR Mike Evans will not play in the team’s third preseason game against Cleveland this Friday. Evans has been sidelined all week with a lower body injury (we believe a quad injury).

Mike Evans has been out a week with what appears to be a quad injury but the team doesn't appear to be worried about his Week 1 availability. He will miss the third preseason game or the team's "dress rehearsal" for the regular season and then starters almost never play in the fourth preseason game. Evans is a veteran who should be fine without taking the field in preseason, so we'll, for now, we'll need to keep an eye on practice reports to make sure he gets back out there and looks healthy.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans did not practice Monday due to an apparent leg injury.

The Tampa Bay Times said the two-time Pro Bowl selection grabbed his left leg after catching a deep ball during Sunday’s practice.

While this certainly seems like something to keep an eye on, the Tampa Times added the team feels the injury is "not serious." Evans played a total of 20 snaps in the Bucs’ first two preseason contests, but his availability for Friday’s game against the Cleveland Browns is in question, the story said.

Sterling Shepard no longer is wearing the yellow non-contact jersey, having ditched it for Sunday’s practice.

It is another step in Shepard’s return from a fractured left thumb, even if the Giants receiver didn’t think it was a big deal.

Shepard continues to wear the splint on his thumb for support, and he remains unavailable for the third preseason game. But Shepard is on track to play in the Sept. 8 opener against the Cowboys, the story said.

Browns QB Baker Mayfield said: “[Odell Beckham] can do things I’ve never seen before,” Mayfield said, via Albert Breer of SI.com. “The pure talent is unreal. As we grow chemistry together, it can be pretty special. He makes my job easy. I’m happy to be able to be at camp with him and get better every day.”

Right now things are definitely warm and fuzzy as Beckham earlier said Mayfield's arm strength "is completely different" than anyone he's played with in the past. The story went on to say Mayfield believes he is a “much better” quarterback than he was at the end of last season and Beckham’s arrival is one of the reasons why people expect the Browns to be a much better team in 2019 than they’ve been in some time.

Sterling Shepard fractured his thumb, the Giants say. He is week-to-week. Extremely tough break on day one of camp.

Set to be the Giants WR1 this season, this could certainly be a blow if he isn't ready to go at the start of the season. Monitor his progress, but for now, Shepard's ADP is in the eighth round as WR37. 4for4 has him ranked a bit lower as WR41.

Sterling Shepard and Golden Tate are set and Darius Slayton figures to find his way onto the roster. After that, jobs are up for grabs, with Cody Latimer, Corey Coleman and Bennie Fowler competing for one or possibly two spots. Coleman should have an edge, based on his talent, but he must continue to show progress and attention to detail, traits that eluded him in Cleveland.

The author said Coleman is the most intriguing, given his pedigree (2016 first-round pick of the Browns) and skill set. He showed flashes last season and if he has matured, maybe the Giants have something. Speedster Slayton, a fifth-round pick from Auburn, looked quite good in the spring but it is tough for rookies to make much of an impact. Coleman has a chance to be the teams WR3.

Giants beat writer Ralph Vacchiano said, technically, Golden Tate is the replacement for Odell Beckham. They're not expecting a Beckham-like season from him, but they paid for a receiver who had been a pretty consistent, 90-catch, 1,000-yard guy since 2014, until last year (when he was traded midseason).

Related players: Sterling Shepard

Vacchiano went on to say they don't need 90-1,000 yard production out of him, but they expect something close. He has to be dangerous enough to take the pressure off Shepard (who we just posted a story where Vacchiano called him the team's top WR) and good enough that the Giants don't have to be reminded all season about the guy they let get away.

Beat writer Ralph Vacchiano said Sterling Shepard got the semi-big contract and now, with Odell Beckham gone, it's pretty clear he's the Giants' No. 1 receiver.

He's the best receiver the Giants have and their best bet for sustaining a passing game. If he takes a step back now that he's in the spotlight, the Giants' passing game isn't going to work at all.

Related players: Golden Tate

Vacchiano didn't really hold back on Shepard despite naming him the top WR. He went on to say so far in his career Shepard's done nothing to suggest he's capable of being a top WR. He's been a possession-like slot receiver who sometimes erupts for a big game. But he needs to have those big games consistently now. We rank Shepard 41st on our WR list and available in the eighth round in 12-team leagues.

Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield has expanded his circle of workout partners beyond Mark Wahlberg.

Wide receiver Jarvis Landry shared pictures and video of him, Mayfield and other members of the Browns working out in California on his Instagram account. A full roster of the players in attendance is unknown, although wideout Rashard Higgins is in one of Landry’s pictures and tight end David Njoku has posted from the workouts as well.

Related players: Odell Beckham

It's not believed that Beckham is working out with the rest of the crew, although, as the story said, no one is really sure. Landry had an undisclosed injury in OTAs, so the two are likely trying to play catch up. The story added Landry is running without any obvious issues in the posted social media videos.

Bucs coach Bruce Arians says he thinks Chris Godwin can be a “close to a 100-catch guy” in 2019.

We agree, though Godwin will have to improve on his career 62.0% catch rate (or see 150+ targets) if he's going to come close to catching 100 passes. He finished strong in 2017, posting 3-98 on six targets against the Panthers in Week 16 and 7-111-1 on 12 targets against the Saints in Week 17. In the five games as a rookie where he played at least 50% of the snaps, he averaged 4.2 catches for 73 yards and 0.20 touchdowns on 7.2 targets per game. In 2018, he finished the season as the No. 25 receiver despite the fact that he played more than 70% of the snaps in just six games, five of which came with DeSean Jackson mostly sidelined from Week 13 to Week 17. Godwin is primed for a third-year breakout.