It’s been evident for some time the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were living on the edge when it came to their wide receivers room, getting by essentially on guts as one player after another went down.
The thing was, they were all coming back at some point from a variety of nagging injuries.
That was, until NFL All-Pro wide receiver Mike Evans went down with a broken collarbone in a Week 7 loss to the Detroit Lions and his return, however much fairy dust we want to sprinkle on it, might not happen until 2026.
We now know the Buccaneers reacted by trying to bring in reinforcements in the form of veteran wide receiver and 2-time Super Bowl champion Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who eventually signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers to reunite with quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who MVS played with on the Green Bay Packers.
“There were a few teams that showed interest in Marquez Valdes-Scantling, including the Bucs, but the idea of reuniting with Aaron Rodgers proved to be the deciding factor,” NFL Insider Jordan Schultz wrote on his official X account on October 28. “The Steelers had interest in MVS earlier this offseason as well. Now, they finally get him.”
While the Buccaneers improved to 6-2 with a 23-8 win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 8 and have a much needed bye in Week 9, a brutal schedule after the break shows they should probably still be in search of help at the position.
MVS Might Not Have Been Solution Bucs Needed
While the Buccaneers may have wanted to look at the upside for MVS — he’s 6-foot-4 and 206 pounds and runs a 4.37-second 40-yard dash — there’s a reason he’s bounced around the NFL like a ping pong ball the last 3 seasons.
The Steelers are the sixth team MVS has played for since 2023 after spending his first 6 seasons with just 2 teams with the Packers and Kansas City Chiefs, where he was a key figure on consecutive Super Bowl winning teams in 2022 and 2023.
While MVS was winning championships, he was also gaining a reputation for making huge mistakes in the most clutch moments — dropping passes and coughing up fumbles and making mental mistakes all mixed up together in a disgusting casserole of games that should have been won but his team ended up losing.
Walking Wounded for Buccaneers at Wide Receiver
While Evans getting hurt was devastating — and ended his quest for an NFL record 12th consecutive 1,000 yard receiving season — he’d already missed the previous 3 games before the Lions game with a hamstring injury.
Fellow NFL All-Pro Chris Godwin came back from a dislocated left ankled suffered in Week 7 of the 2024 regular season after missing the first 3 games but was ineffective in 2 appearances. He’s missed the last 3 games with irritation in the same ankle and only has 6 receptions for 52 yards this season.
Another starter, Jalen McMillan, has been out all season with a severely sprained neck and won’t be back until Week 13, at the earliest.
The struggles may have finally caught up with quarterback Baker Mayfield, who had a season low 152 passing yards against the Saints and only has 1 touchdown pass over his last 2 games.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Buccaneers Tried to Sign 2-Time Super Bowl Champion WR appeared first on Heavy Sports.