The Tampa Bay Buccaneers returned to the gridiron for the first day of OTAs on Monday at One Buc Place. However, several players didn’t participate in Monday’s festivities including wide receiver Mike Evans.

As a result, many Bucs fans and a good portion of the Tampa Bay area have been concerned about him and why he didn’t work out with the rest of the team. Fortunately, Bucs’ coach Dirk Koetter took a few moments to explain why Evans was sidelined, making it clear that he’s not injured.

We had a number of guys (sit out) – you’re always going to be cautious with guys this time of year. It’s still May. We have a handful of guys that are coming off offseason surgery and we have another group of guys that are coming off tweaks that came up in Phase One or Phase Two. We don’t have anything that’s too serious, and I think the majority of those guys will be back by next Tuesday after the four-day weekend. But that’s always going to be work in progress this time of year. We’re always going to be proceeding with extreme caution on anything.

Koetter said it’s extremely cautious of the health of players like Evans during training camp and the rest of the offseason to ensure they don’t get injured and that they’re fully healthy and ready to go in just a few short months.

Evans, in particular, has been one of the team’s most valuable players and anchored the Bucs’ offense last season alongside Jameis Winston. Even with the addition of several new weapons on the offensive side of the ball, Evans is still poised to play a critical role in the offense’s success this year which is precisely why the Bucs are doing all they can to ensure he’s 100% healthy when the season kicks off.