There was a familiar presence back on the practice field Thursday at One Buccaneer Place – No. 13, Tampa Bay’s All-Pro wide receiver Mike Evans.

That doesn’t mean the perennial member of the NFL’s 1,000-yard reception club is fully recovered from his hamstring injury and will be ready for Monday night’s important road game against the 4-2 Detroit Lions. But the mere sight of Evans, going through practice in limited fashion, was enough to raise the team’s hopes that he may see action.

That’s particularly significant given the hamstring strain suffered last week by fellow receiver Emeka Egbuka, which knocked the red-hot rookie out of the second half in the 30-19 win over San Francisco. Coupled with the injury to veteran receiver Chris Godwin (fibula), the 5-1 Bucs could  get a much-needed boost from Evans in Detroit if his hamstring has healed sufficiently .

“He was limited,” head coach Todd Bowles said Thursday after practice. “He did some things – obviously, he did some things very well. We’ve just got to monitor it throughout the week. But, just to see him in a helmet right now, coming out there in the jersey and doing some of the things that he’s doing, is very encouraging for us.”

Asked for any update on Egbuka, he had little news: “No different. It’s a strained hamstring.”

Bowles had far more to offer on the topic of what it means to have Evans in the lineup, and how it changes the way teams defend Tampa Bay’s offense.

“He draws a double team,” he said. “It helps the run game, number one, because it keeps a safety out of the box, plus another corner out of the box. Obviously, he’s our go-to guy when he is healthy. Because of his size, his height, (and) his intelligence to adjust off of routes and everything else – every little thing he does causes a problem for the other team and it makes our other guys better.”

Quarterback Baker Mayfield, also met with the media Thursday, offered his own perspective on Evans and how he changes an offense.

“Obviously, Mike draws a lot of attention,” he said. “…Our coaching staff (has) done a great job (on) how to get him isolated in one-on-one situations, how to get him the rock. And we have to take advantage of those opportunities. Also, understanding the other side of it, is when he does draw a lot of attention, guys have to step up and do their jobs at a high level. There are a lot more pros that come with it than cons. He gets double-teamed every once in a while, but that is just an opportunity for somebody else to step up."

Just seeing Evans practice Thursday was reassuring to Mayfield.

"It’s a good safety blanket,” he said. “It is nice to see him out there"

Meanwhile, here are some more subjects that Bowles and Mayfield touched upon Thursday:

BOWLES

(On if there’s a potential timeline for T Luke Goedeke’s return)

“When he gets out there and practices, I’ll have a better ballpark. Until now, he’s rehabbing like the rest of them. I honestly don’t have one right now until I see him out there running around doing something. I don’t have a ballpark estimate of him right now.”

(On if he expects Goedeke to return this season)

“I would hope he’s back, yes. He should be.”

(On OL Mike Jordan’s status)

“He did some things today, too. He did some things well and we’ve got to monitor him throughout the week, but he’s trending in the right direction.”

On being able to limit San Francisco RB Christian McCaffrey in Week 6, and the growth of LB SirVocea Dennis this season)

“He’s settling down. He’s settling down – making the defensive calls, getting everybody lined up, doing everything he has to do and still doing his job. He was a little bit antsy to begin the season. He’s kind of quietly settling down a little bit. He’s playing faster, making more plays – [you’re] seeing the guy we saw in the spring.”

(On why CB Jamel Dean is playing some of the best football of his career right now)

“It clicks. It takes a few years to get it all down and become a seasoned vet. He’s healthier, number one. When he was healthy, he always played decent football. I think the mental part of it is clicking with the physical part right now. He’s not thinking as much – he’s just playing ball. He feels free, and he’s doing a great job.”

(On if he is aware of the praise that the Buccaneers and QB Baker Mayfield are receiving from the fans and the national media)

“I’m aware of quite everything, but it’s Week 7. You don’t pay that any mind. You try to get better and you try to make it a stretch run. If the season was seven games, I would be extremely happy. The season is 17 games. We have a long way to go. We’re not too high on it. We understand it. We appreciate it. From a football standpoint, we’ve got a lot of work to do with ourselves. It’s a long season.”

(On how pleased he is with the play of wide receivers Kam Johnson and Tez Johnson)

“For those two guys to step up and play the way they did with everybody going down, it just showed the professionalism and the preparation that they paid attention to without getting all the reps. It was outstanding.”

(On if there’s an update on the health status of cornerbacks Benjamin Morrison and Zyon McCollum)

“They practiced today. They had full practices today. We’ve got to see where their wind is at the end of the week, but they’re coming around.”

(On the team’s depth at the cornerback position)

“We needed the depth this year, obviously, with [Benjamin] Morrison and Zyon [McCollum] out and then [Jamel] Dean out before. [Kindle] Vildor stepped in – he’s a vet, very smart, very intelligent football player. [Jacob] Parrish is playing like a vet – I mean, he’s a rookie, but he’s playing like a vet. For the most part, they’ve kind of stayed healthy with the exception of [Benjamin] Morrison. The safeties have – knock on wood – stayed healthy thus far. From a health standpoint, I think we’re doing a better job, but you don’t want to test the depth too much.”

(On WR Tez Johnson thinking he was the player receiving the MVP chants in Week 6)

“I saw that. Interesting.”

MAYFIELD

(On if he got a laugh out of WR Tez Johnson thinking the "MVP" chants were for him)

"I get a kick out of him and 'Shep' (Sterling Shepard) interacting every single day. You guys got a little dose of that on camera, but that is everyday life here at One Buc Place."

(On the success Wide Receivers Coach Bryan McClendon has had with the wide receiver room over the last couple of years)

"He has done a hell of a job. 'B-Mac' (Bryan McClendon) does our two-minute presentations and just the details he has -- his meetings -- I can only imagine, they are flying 100 miles per hour. He goes quick, so you better be paying attention and then I know those guys, obviously if they have questions, he is always doing his extra walkthroughs with them, communicating with them on different looks. He has just done an incredible job of not just talking to guys like, 'Okay, here is the starting group for our 11 personnel, here is what we got,' everybody has to be dialed in and he has obviously made sure everybody is paying attention."

(On how big it is for him to help develop the young guys on offense)

"That is a key aspect of leadership. One, you have to know your job and do it well but also empower the guys to feel like they can go above and beyond. That is a huge thing in leadership, is instilling confidence. It is not a false confidence, though. It is making sure they really have it down and then at that point they realize it, and then they take it on their own. Those guys have done a good job and now we just trust them."

(On if the adversity he went through during his career makes his current success any sweeter)

"No. Wins are wins. We are sitting at 5-1 and you look at the only interception I have had is when we lost. You look at that, I look at how do we win? That is what I am worried about and focused on. Our team, I believe in it. I said it from training camp, I like the young guys that we have, I like the people that we have. Obviously, it is never ideal when you are having to move people around all the time, do not get me wrong, but nobody cares; nobody feels bad for you, so you have to find a way to make it work."

(On how he instilled confidence in himself after joining the Buccaneers in 2023)

"No, at that point -- confidence-wise -- prior to that, probably during the mid-lull of the Browns, the Carolina, that time period. After 2023, realized [I] have to find the joy in football again and enjoy wherever I am at and be a good teammate and trying to do everything I can."

(On when he starts to look at the standings for the season, especially with the team being in first place in the NFC)

"There is a lot of ball left. [I am] not looking at the standings. You do that, you consider if we were looking at the standings the last couple of years here in Tampa, probably would have gone in the tank. There is a lot of ball left."

(On if going to the Los Angeles Rams in 2022 helped get his confidence back)

"Yeah, that was a huge point. They were not going to the playoffs, had a five-game stretch, just seeing how much I can possibly learn from those guys out there and find the fun in football again, and just enjoy it. That was a huge point."