Evans was suspended for violating the excessive roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct rules, the league said. Evans will not be eligible to return until after Sunday’s home opener against the Green Bay Packers. Evans is allowed to appeal the suspension under the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement. If he appeals, the hearing will be before either Derrick Brooks or James Thrash, who are jointly appointed by the league and the NFL Players Association to rule on on-field player disciplinary appeals. Evans plans to appeal the suspension, sources told ESPN.
In a letter to Evans, NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan wrote: “After the end of a play, you were walking to the sideline. When you observed your teammates clashing with the Saints players, you ran to that area of the field and violently throw your body and hit an unsuspecting opponent who was part of this collision. You knocked your opponent to the ground and a melee ensued with players from both teams. Your aggressive behavior could cause serious injury to your opponent and clearly does not reflect the high standards of sportsmanship expected of a professional.” Rule 13, Section 2, Article 8 (g) prohibits “unintentionally running, diving, cutting or throwing the body against or upon a player who is out of play or should not reasonably have anticipated such contact from an opponent, before or after the ball is dead’. Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1 prohibits any act “contrary to the generally understood principles of sport”. No other players were suspended by the NFL on Monday. This was not Evans’ first ejection for an altercation with Lattimore. In 2017, Evans was suspended for one game for running onto the field and shoving Lattimore in the back. On Sunday, Evans said he believed Lattimore hit Leonard Fournette in the face and shoved quarterback Tom Brady. He said he wasn’t concerned about his suspension because he felt 2017 was a more egregious rule violation and he wasn’t sent off at the time. But the NFL takes repeat offenses into account. “He hit my teammate in the face. I just pushed him to the ground,” Evans said. “I was just trying to get my teammate back. All I saw was him punch someone in the face. I was like, ‘I’m not going to let that happen.’ In 2020, Lattimore was fined $10,500 for unnecessary roughness for shoving Evans in the back, causing Evans to tear off his helmet. If Evans’ suspension stands, it would further deplete a receiving corps already dealing with multiple injuries. The Buccaneers played Sunday without Chris Godwin and Julio Jones.
