Justin Evans (American football)

Justin Evans (born August 26, 1995) is an American football safety for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Mississippi Gulf Coast before transferring to Texas A&M.

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

Justin Evans
No. 30 – Philadelphia Eagles
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born: (1995-08-26) August 26, 1995
Wiggins, Mississippi, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:199 lb (90 kg)
Career information
High school:Stone
College:Mississippi Gulf Coast (2013–2014)
Texas A&M (2015–2016)
NFL Draft:2017 / Round: 2 / Pick: 50
Career history
Roster status:Injured reserve
Career NFL statistics as of 2022
Total tackles:154
Sacks:0.0
Forced fumbles:1
Fumble recoveries:1
Interceptions:4
Defensive touchdowns:1
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Professional career

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
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard splitVertical jumpBroad jumpBench pressWonderlic
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 s1.57 s2.67 s41+1⁄2 in
(1.05 m)		10 ft 9 in
(3.28 m)		14 reps25
All values from NFL Combine/Texas A&M's Pro Day[5][4]

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

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]

2017

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

External video
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 Tampa Bay 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 Tampa Bay 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

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 video
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 Tampa Bay 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

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

Philadelphia Eagles

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
  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. "Justin Evans, DS #6 SS, Texas A&M". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  5. "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. "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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