Tampa Bay Buccaneers
top pick and rookie
wide receiver
Mike Evans
celebrated his 21st birthday, as so many do, by going out to a night club. Unfortunately, Evans’ night at the club ended with him getting into a physical altercation as reported and caught on video by
TMZsports
.
As bad as that may sound on the surface, no arrests were made at the time of the incident and the video shows the scene is surrounded by people wearing police vests who do not seem remotely interested in getting involved.
The fact this is on video will get this more attention, but it also may serve to show that it is not a huge deal, outside of the fact that it is some negative press for the NFL. Evans was an extremely young prospect coming into the NFL Draft at just 20 and there were some questions about his maturity. The bowl game against Duke showed an extremely frustrated Evans getting multiple personal foul penalties and having a difficult time being calmed down on the sideline as Blue Devil corner Ross Corkrell was consistently agitating Evans in the game.
Evans was ultimately calmed down by former teammate and quarterback Johnny Manziel, who has similarly been involved in a story involving a stray finger being pointed at the opposing bench in the Cleveland Browns preseason game against Washington.
This incident for Evans will likely have a minimal impact on him and the team if any. Evans, along with Vincent Jackson and fellow rookie Austin Seferian-Jenkins form a monstrous trio of weapons from a sheer size and strength standpoint that could power the Bucs back into the conversation for a playoff spot and perhaps even the NFC South Division.