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Justin Evans (American football)

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For the association football player, see Justin Evans (soccer).

Justin Evans
Personal information
Born: (1995-08-26) August 26, 1995 (age 29)
Hattiesburg, Mississippi, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:199 lb (90 kg)
Career information
High school:Stone (Wiggins, Mississippi)
College:Mississippi Gulf Coast (2013–2014)
Texas A&M (2015–2016)
Position:Safety
NFL draft:2017 / round: 2 / pick: 50
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2023
Total tackles:169
Forced fumbles:2
Fumble recoveries:2
Interceptions:4
Defensive touchdowns:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Justin Evans (born August 26, 1995) is an American professional football safety who is a free agent. He played college football at Mississippi Gulf Coast before transferring to Texas A&M.

Professional career

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Pre-draft

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Evans received an invitation to the Senior Bowl and was able to impress scouts during practice. He was unable to participate during the actual game due to injury.[1][2] He attended the NFL Combine and only completed the bench press due to a quad injury.[3] Evans also participated at Texas A&M's Pro Day and completed the majority of combine drills he was unable to finish at the combine. He opted to not run the short shuttle and three-cone drill.[4] The majority of NFL draft experts and analysts projected Evans to be a second or third round pick.[5] He was ranked the sixth best strong safety by DraftScout.com, the tenth best safety by Sports Illustrated, and was ranked the ninth best safety in the draft by ESPN.[6][7]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press Wonderlic
5 ft 11+5⁄8 in
(1.82 m) 		199 lb
(90 kg) 		32 in
(0.81 m) 		9+3⁄4 in
(0.25 m)		 4.60 s 1.57 s 2.67 s 41+1⁄2 in
(1.05 m)		 10 ft 9 in
(3.28 m)		 14 reps 25
All values from NFL Combine/Texas A&M's Pro Day[5][4]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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External videos
video icon Buccaneers draft Justin Evans 50th overall
video icon 2017 NFL Draft Profile: Justin Evans

2017

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Evans in the second round (50th overall) of the 2017 NFL draft.[8] Evans was the seventh safety drafted in 2017.[9] On May 25, 2017, Evans signed a four-year, $5.19 million contract with the team.[10]

Throughout training camp, Evans competed to be a starting safety against J. J. Wilcox, Chris Conte, and Keith Tandy.[11]

External videos
video icon Evans dives in the end zone for an interception
video icon Justin Evans picks off Brett Hundley on a deep pass

He made his professional regular season debut in the Buccaneers against the Chicago Bears and made one solo tackle during a 29–7 victory. On October 5, 2017, Evans earned his first career start after Keith Tandy sustained a hip injury.[12] Evans collected a season-high nine combined tackles, deflected two passes, and made his first career interception during a 19–14 loss against the New England Patriots in Week 5 on Monday Night Football.[13] He intercepted a pass by Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady, that was initially intended for wide receiver Chris Hogan, and returned it for a two-yard gain on the first drive of the game.[14] In Week 15, Evans recorded six combined tackles and sustained an ankle injury during a 24–21 loss against the Atlanta Falcons.[15] On December 20, 2017, the Buccaneers placed Evans on injured reserve due to an ankle injury.[16] Evans finished his rookie season in 2017 with 66 combined tackles (50 solo), six pass deflections, and three interceptions in 14 games and 11 starts.[17]

2018–2020

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Evans entered training camp slated as a starting safety, but saw competition from Chris Conte, Keith Tandy, and Jordan Whitehead.[18] Head coach Dirk Koetter named Evans and Chris Conte the starting safeties to begin the regular season in 2018.[19]

External videos
video icon Justin Evans scoops up Gillislee's fumble for a TD
video icon Evans jumps onfeon of JuJu for INT on Big Ben

He started in the Buccaneers' season-opener at the New Orleans Saints and made five combined tackles and returned a fumble recovery for a 34-yard touchdown during a 48–40 victory.[20] Evans recovered a fumble and returned it for a 34-yard touchdown during the second quarter after teammate Vernon Hargreaves forced the fumble by Saints' running back Mike Gillislee.[21] On September 24, 2018, Evans made six combined tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception during a 30–27 loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3. Evans sustained a toe injury in Week 10 and missed the next two games (Weeks 11–12).[22] In Week 10, he collected a season-high nine combined tackles during a 16–3 loss against the Washington Redskins.[23] On December 2, 2018, Evans recorded two solo tackles during a 24–17 win against the Carolina Panthers in Week 13, but was carted off the field in the second quarter after aggravating his toe injury.[24] He missed the next two games (Weeks 14–15) before he was placed on injured reserve on December 18, 2018.[25] He finished the 2018 NFL season with 59 combined tackles (43 solo), two pass deflections, one interception, a fumble recovery, and one touchdown.[17] He received an overall grade of 67.7 from Pro Football Focus, which ranked as the 52nd best grade among all qualified safeties in 2018.[26]

On September 10, 2019, Evans was placed on injured reserve with an Achilles injury.[27] He was placed on the active/physically unable to perform list (PUP) at the start of training camp on July 28, 2020.[28] He was moved to the reserve/PUP list at the start of the regular season on September 5, 2020.[29] On December 22, 2020, Evans was waived by the Buccaneers with a "failed physical" designation.[30]

New Orleans Saints

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On April 4, 2022, after missing the 2021 season, Evans signed a one-year contract with the New Orleans Saints.[31]

Philadelphia Eagles

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On March 20, 2023, Evans signed with the Philadelphia Eagles.[32] He was named the Eagles starting safety to begin the 2023 season. He was placed on injured reserve on October 13, 2023, with a knee injury.[33]

References

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  1. ^ Joe Buscaglia (January 26, 2017). "Joe B: 5 observations from the Senior Bowl Day 3". wkbw.com. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  2. ^ Creg Stepenson (January 27, 2017). "Prattville native among 5 players added to Senior Bowl roster". al.com. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  3. ^ "Rotoworld.com: Justin Evans". rotoworld.com. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Justin Evans, DS #6 SS, Texas A&M". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  5. ^ a b "NFL Draft Profile: Justin Evans". NFL.com. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  6. ^ Chris Burke (April 25, 2017). "2017 NFL draft rankings: Top Prospects by Position". si.com. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  7. ^ Jeff Legwold (April 22, 2017). "Ranking the 2017 Draft's Top 100 Prospects". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  8. ^ "2017 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  9. ^ "Buccaneers Draft Justin Evans in Round 2". Buccaneers.com. April 28, 2017.
  10. ^ "Sportrac.com: Justin Evans contract". Sportrac.com. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  11. ^ "Bucs' Brett Maxie discusses Justin Evans and competition at safety". bucswire.usatoday.com. May 22, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  12. ^ "Buccaneers' Keith Tandy: Exits game with hip injury". cbssports.com. October 1, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  13. ^ "WATCH: Bucs rookie Justin Evans hands Tom Brady his 1st INT of 2017". Bucs Wire. October 6, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  14. ^ "New England Patriots at Tampa Bay Buccaneers - October 5th, 2017". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  15. ^ "Buccaneers' Justin Evans: Placed on IR". cbssports.com. December 20, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  16. ^ Smith, Scott (December 20, 2017). "Standout Rookies Among Five Bucs Headed to IR". Buccaneers.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017.
  17. ^ a b "NFL Player stats: Justin Evans (career)". NFL.com. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  18. ^ "Safety position among Bucs' biggest position battles right now". bucswire.usatoday.com. May 10, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  19. ^ "Bucs release the first depth chart of the preseason". bucsnation.com. August 6, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  20. ^ Berrian, Josh. "Stone, MGCCC product Justin Evans shows out in the Superdome". WLOX. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  21. ^ "Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints - September 9th, 2018". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  22. ^ "Buccaneers-Giants Injury Report Nov. 16: Lavonte David, Vinny Curry, Justin Evans Ruled Out for Sunday's Game in New York". Buccaneers.com. November 16, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  23. ^ "NFL Player stats: Justin Evans (2018)". NFL.com. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  24. ^ "Bucs S Justin Evans (foot) won't return vs. Panthers". bucswire.usatoday.com. December 2, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  25. ^ Smith, Scott (December 18, 2018). "Justin Evans, Alan Cross Land on I.R." Buccaneers.com.
  26. ^ "Pro Football Focus: Justin Evans". profootballfocus.com. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  27. ^ Smith, Scott (September 10, 2019). "Justin Evans Lands on IR Amid Round of Roster Moves". Buccaneers.com.
  28. ^ Smith, Scott (July 28, 2020). "Bucs Update Status of Justin Evans, Kendell Beckwith". Buccaneers.com. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  29. ^ Smith, Scott (September 5, 2020). "Matt Gay, A.Q. Shipley Among Cuts to Get to 53". Buccaneers.com. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  30. ^ Staff, RotoWire (December 22, 2020). "Justin Evans: Cut by Bucs". Cbssports. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  31. ^ "New Orleans Saints agree to terms with defensive end Taco Charlton and defensive back Justin Evans". NewOrleansSaints.com. April 4, 2022.
  32. ^ Alper, Josh (March 20, 2023). "Justin Evans agrees to sign with Eagles". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  33. ^ "Eagles sign Bradley Roby to the active roster". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. October 13, 2023.
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