After Brawl, NFL Deals Buccaneers WR Mike Evans One-Game Suspension

Mike Evans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has been suspended without pay for one game. This is the result of his violations for unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct rules in Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints. The NFL announced the suspension on Monday.

The Buccaneers, who beat the Saints 20-10, learned this afternoon that they will be without their leading and best wide receiver for Sunday's home game against the Green Bay Packers.

Evans will appeal the suspension, an NFL source confirmed to OutKick.

Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore who was also a key participant in the brawl between the Bucs and Saints, was disqualified from the game along with Evans. But a source confirmed to OutKick that Lattimore will not be suspended.

Letter to Evans from the NFL

NFL Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan issued the suspension for a violation of Rule 12, Section 2, Article 8(g) which prohibits “unnecessarily running, diving into, cutting, or throwing the body against or on a player who is out of the play or should not have reasonably anticipated such contact by an opponent, before or after the ball is dead,” as well as Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1 which prohibits any act which is “contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship.” 

In a letter to Evans, Runyan wrote: “After a play had ended, you were walking toward your sidelines. When you noticed your teammates engaged in a confrontation with Saints’ players, you ran toward that area on the field and violently threw your body into and struck an unsuspecting opponent who was part of that confrontation. You knocked your opponent to the ground and a melee ensued involving players from both teams. Your aggressive conduct could have caused serious injury to your opponent and clearly does not reflect the high standards of sportsmanship expected of a professional."

Mike Evans Can Return Next Week

Evans will be eligible to return to the Buccaneers’ active roster on Monday, September 26, following the team’s September 25 game against the Packers.

Once Evans makes his appeal notice official, the appeal will be heard and decided by either Derrick Brooks or James Thrash. They are the hearing officers jointly appointed and compensated by the NFL and NFLPA to decide appeals of on-field player discipline.

Brooks is a former Buccaneers linebacker.

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