New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton believes Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans should have been ejected for shoving rookie defensive back Marshon Lattimore to the turf during the third quarter of Sunday's game.
"If there's not an ejection in that situation then I don't know when there's supposed to be an ejection," Payton told reporters after the game.
Lattimore got into a verbal confrontation with Buccaneers players on the sideline, including an injured Jameis Winston, who touched Lattimore. Lattimore turned around and shoved Winston before Evans ran in quickly from the field and shoved Lattimore down before falling on top of him as he threw punches. Coaches and players on the Bucs' sideline quickly separated the two players, and Evans was flagged for a personal foul.
Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter said after the Bucs' 30-10 loss he didn't see the hit and didn't offer an opinion on who might have been at fault.
As for Evans, it appears he's frustrated at how the season has gone for Tampa Bay through Week 9.
"We are very bad. We are 2-6 so that's terrible," said Evans after a game which saw Winston replaced by Ryan Fitzpatrick after halftime due to a shoulder injury. "We are too talented to be 2-6. We are just in a bad spot and have to come together to fix it. Time is running out."
When asked whether he thought he might be suspended, Evans responded, per Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times: "I want to play. I want to help my team. The league's going to do what they're going to do."
