Evan Washburn at Super Bowl LVIII (Courtesy of Wajmah Strange/CBS) Evan Washburn at Super Bowl LVIII (Courtesy of Wajmah Strange/CBS)
By Michael Grant on

The 2025 NFL season is almost here, and that means it’s the busiest time of year for CBS sports reporter Evan Washburn.

Best known for his work as a sideline reporter for the network, Washburn’s Week 1 assignment will be the Sunday afternoon game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets in East Rutherford, N.J. Washburn is a former University of Delaware lacrosse player who transitioned to broadcasting and has worked four Super Bowls in his 12 years at CBS.

We recently caught up with him to discuss the NFL, his job, and his role covering the NCAA basketball tournament.

Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

Awful Announcing: How far in advance do you know your schedule this year?

Evan Washburn: “For the most part, you get your first three weeks of assignments in late August. So, we will be in New York for Jets-Steelers Week 1, then Nashville for Rams-Titans in Week 2, and then New England for Steelers-Patriots in Week 3. And then from there, for the next probably four to six weeks, you get your assignments two weeks out. As you get down the stretch, it’s really seven to 10 days out just because of the way they’ve created a fluctuation in the schedule. So you’re waiting and seeing, which I like. It’s exciting. If you know too far in advance where you’re going, you probably are thinking too far in advance.”

What intrigues you about the Steelers vs. Jets matchup?

“You can’t ask for more. The headliner would be Aaron Rodgers going back to New York, and then on the flip side, you’ve got Justin Fields playing his old team. Granted, it was one season at Pittsburgh and he was only the starter for a few games, but I think both quarterbacks have their intrigue when it comes to where they were a year ago and where they are now and meeting up in Week 1.”

What do you think is the most interesting thing about this season?

“What response will we see from Kansas City after an embarrassing loss in a Super Bowl? Patrick Mahomes, feeling like for the first time in his career, people are starting to not question what he is as a player, but maybe that there are others in his stratosphere, whether it’s Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, or Joe Burrow. Right along with that, is this the season where Baltimore or Buffalo pushes through? Who’s the surprise team? Who’s the team we didn’t see coming?”

What about the NFC?

“I’m really curious to see what Philadelphia is able to do this season, because on paper, they have every opportunity to repeat as Super Bowl champions. They’re as talented a roster as there is. But in Philadelphia, they almost don’t feel comfortable if things are going too well. It’s like they feed off of tension, whether it’s from their fan base or whatever it might be. So how do they navigate a season where everyone’s now picking them and believing in them as opposed to sometimes they’d be better off, better served, fueled by doubters?”

How did you go from being a lacrosse player to being a broadcaster?

“When I graduated from the University of Delaware in 2008, I was searching for what to do next. I’d gotten injured in my final game. I planned on playing professional lacrosse. At that time, it was more of a summer league sort of situation, but in my mind, it was a great way to avoid the real world. The injury forced me to face the reality of: ‘OK, what are you going to do for a living?’ I had told people while in school that I was interested in sports broadcasting, but to be honest with you, I didn’t do anything to make that idea a reality, because I focused solely on just playing sports, trying to get through the academics, and having as much fun as possible.”

What was your major at Delaware?

“Lacrosse and fun, and then on the side, I was an English major with a journalism concentration. I’m very transparent about the idea that I was not a quality student. I probably didn’t put as much focus and effort into it as I should have because I wasn’t interested in the grind of academics. And I regret some of that.”

How did you get your start in TV?

“My real taste of the business came in the winter of ’09. I was able to get an unpaid internship at Comcast SportsNet in D.C. That was huge for me. It was a chance to really see what it was like to work in the sports broadcast industry, especially in that studio setting where we were doing a nightly show or a couple of shows every night. I had every job from working in the feed room to logging highlights to trying to learn how to edit, writing scripts, to doing what I call fonting the graphics for shows. I describe it as like a graduate-level year or two where I was a freelance or interning production assistant.”

How did your career with CBS begin?

“I made a tape and sent that tape to CBS College Sports, which is now CBS Sports Network, because I knew they did college lacrosse games. I sent it to them. I sent it to ESPN. The only person who reached back out was CBS College Sports. Fast forward a year, and I ended up getting one game with them. It was Princeton-Cornell in the spring of 2011, I think. I may be mixing up my years, so don’t hold me to it. But it was a one-game opportunity. Did the game. They seemed to like it. And that led to one more game and then a bunch more games. That started the relationship at CBS.”

What led to your gig as an NFL sidelines reporter?

“After doing a series of college lacrosse games in the fall of 2012, they had a last-minute opening for a college football sideline reporter at CBS. They offered me, specifically Ross Molloy, who’s still obviously a big part of CBS Sports now. He’s my immediate boss, somebody who’s just been incredibly helpful and a big part of my success. He gave me a chance to do, I want to say it was eight games that fall of 2012. And that was huge. It was mostly Conference USA and Mountain West. The big opportunity came in the fall of 2014. CBS got the rights to Thursday Night Football. And that was big because that meant they were going to add sideline reporters. That was kind of how I got into that role that I continue to do to this day.”

Is preparing for the NCAA tournament different from the NFL?

“It’s definitely different. Once [football] season gets going, you still have Monday through Saturday to prepare. There’s nothing that’s going to necessarily catch you off guard. Compare that to the NCAA tournament, and you’re drinking from a fire hose. We get our eight teams or our location for rounds one and two on Sunday night. Now, go meet with all eight teams and then do four games in a day. I don’t do a lot of college basketball in the regular season. I’ll do a couple of conference tournaments. If I’m lucky, I have seen one of the eight teams. That requires a ton of just cramming and trying to figure out what I need to know so that I can do these teams justice on the biggest stage. That’s really stressful.”

About Michael Grant

Born in Jamaica. Grew up in New York City. Lives in Louisville, Ky. Sports writer. Not related to Ulysses S. Grant.

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