Bucs WR Mike Evans Suspended One Game For Hitting Saints’ Marshon Lattimore

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ season continues to deteriorate.

Mike Evans Suspension News

Wide receiver Mike Evans received a one-game suspension Monday for his actions in Sunday’s 30-10 defeat at New Orleans. Evans — a fourth-year former first-round pick out of Texas A&M — was caught on camera decking Saints rookie defensive back Marshon Lattimore to the turf in the third quarter.

This came after Lattimore began exchanging tense words with Bucs players on the sidelines, including injured quarterback Jameis Winston, who irked Lattimore.

The rookie DB thus pushed Winston, which led Evans to rush over and tackle Lattimore from behind.

Here’s the brutal hit:

“During the third quarter, after a play had ended, you struck an unsuspecting opponent in the back, knocking him to the ground,” read a letter from the NFL to Evans. “Your conduct clearly did not reflect the high standards of sportsmanship expected of a professional.”

“If there’s not an ejection in that situation,” Saints coach Sean Payton said after the game, “then I don’t know when there’s supposed to be an ejection.”

Evans —a one-time Pro Bowler — will thus miss Sunday’s home matchup against the New York Jets. The Bucs are 2-6 and fourth in the NFC South. The Jets (4-5) are also at the bottom of their division. That contest will pit Jets QB Josh McCown against Bucs passer Ryan Fitzpatrick, a former Jet who will start in relief of Winston, who is nursing a shoulder injury.

“I let my emotions get the best of me,” Evans said, per the Tampa Bay Times. “I thought [Lattimore] was picking a fight with my quarterback. It’s something I shouldn’t have done. It was very childish. I shouldn’t have done that. Unprofessional.”

Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter voiced his displeasure with Evans’ actions.

GLENDALE, AZ – SEPTEMBER 18: Wide receiver Mike Evans #13 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at the University of Phoenix Stadium on September 18, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals defeated the Buccaneers 40-7. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)