The 2025/26 NFL has now officially concluded, as the Seahawks thumped Drake Maye and the Patriots in convincing fashion in Santa Clara and walked off with the franchise’s second Lombardi trophy. Maye can lick his wounds while checking out the sights in Vegas or Cabo. He’s still young, and this will be a valuable learning experience for him.
Meanwhile, NFL fans will have to content themselves with waiting for the draft to see whether their team can address its offseason needs. For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the franchise’s most pressing needs are arguably edge rusher and inside linebacker. An elite pass rusher to complement Yaya Diaby is required, and with Lavonte David likely retiring, there will be fewer longstanding defensive stalwarts capable of manifesting the right mindset in close games for the Bucs, where composure means everything.
However, this problem is hardly restricted to the defensive side of the ball, and that’s where Mike Evans comes in. The veteran receiver is due to hit free agency after the expiration of his most recent two-year deal. But the question remains: Does it make sense for the Bucs to resign Evans, or should they cut ties with him in search of a receiver with younger, fresher legs?
The Case for Parting Ways with Evans
First, let’s play devil’s advocate for a minute. Assume that the Bucs decide to re-sign Evans. There are plenty of valid reasons why the team brass might figure it makes sense to find a spot for him on the 52-man roster.
However, Evans is coming off an injury-shortened season and is 33 years old. That may be young by most standards, but not in the NFL, and not when it comes to wide receivers.
Back in October of 2025, in the game between the Bucs and the Lions where Evans broke his collarbone, it’s reasonable to say that a receiver of any age could have sustained the same injury. He went airborne while trying to catch an overthrown ball by Baker Mayfield and landed awkwardly. In that respect, it’s reasonable to say that one of the major injuries that sidelined Evans for several weeks could have happened to anyone.
The same can’t necessarily be said of his hamstring strain earlier in the season, though. While it’s true that sprains and strains can happen to athletes at any age, the older one gets, the more prone they are to these types of injuries. It’s just the body’s way of reminding top-tier athletes that they’re not as invincible as they used to be.
If the Bucs re-sign Evans, he could pull another hammy or sustain a similar soft tissue injury before the season even starts. That’s not to say with any certainty that it’s going to happen, just that it’s more probable with athletes who are approaching the back nine of their career, like Evans.
The Case for Keeping Him
On the other hand, it’s just as possible that Evans bucks the odds and stays healthy if the Bucs elect to re-sign him. If they do, what they’re getting back is a First Ballot Hall-of-Famer. It’s a foregone conclusion that Evans’ smiling visage will one day grace a plaque in Canton, alongside such other Bucs’ notables as Ronde Barber and Warren Sapp.
While not as young as he used to be, Evans had been a model of health and longevity up until last season’s injuries. Prior to 2025, he racked up at least 1,000 yards receiving for 11 years running, an astonishing streak considering how many quarterbacks and offensive coordinators he shared the field with during his tenure with the team.
Not only that, but Evans is a former Super Bowl champion, having earned a ring with the Tom Brady-led Bucs in 2021. While Brady has ridden off into the sunset, Evans remains, and he’s one of the last holdovers who remembers what it was like to win some hardware in Tampa. He can remind some of the young pups entering the league what it’s actually like to claim the game’s richest prize.
How Prominent a Role Can Evans Play at This Point in His Career?
None of this would matter, of course, if Tampa’s offensive scheme entering the 2026/27 season didn’t seem to match what Evans still brings to the table. But all indications are that what they plan to do on that side of the ball is still very much a fit for Evans’ well-established skill set.
Some of the top betting platforms and best online casinos in the US are currently putting the over/under on Evans’ receiving yards at 950 or so, and the Buccaneers haven’t even officially re-signed him yet. That’s not at the level of the 1,000–1,300 yards you would probably see for a WR1, but it’s still more than respectable for a 33-year-old who’s coming off multiple injuries.
Vegas oddsmakers still respect Evans at his age because his physical gifts make him an attractive target for Baker Mayfield if the Buccaneers and Evans agree that a reunion makes sense. The Buccaneers already have Chris Godwin under contract, along with youngsters Jalen McMillan and Emeka Egbuka, but none stands 6-foot-5 like Evans.
The fact remains that even at his age, Evans is a formidable weapon because of his size and strength, as he’s perfectly capable of wrestling away any 50-50 ball thrown to him, especially when he has a 1-on-1 matchup with a shorter defender. When Baker is under pressure, he often turns to his security blanket, and he and Evans seem to share a similar rapport to what Evans established with Brady prior to the Golden Boy’s retirement.
The NFC South Is Likely Up for Grabs in 2026/27
Re-signing Evans isn’t just about what he can do with the ball in his hands. What’s just as significant is how he can be a stabilizing force on a team that’s searching for an identity. Tampa ostensibly remains a pass-first offense, and if that’s how they want to do business in the less-than-great NFC South, it makes even more sense for them to re-sign Evans.
It’s noteworthy that the NFC South was the only division in the league this past year to crown a champion with a losing record. Carolina seems to be resurgent, though it’s not exactly a powerhouse, while New Orleans and the Falcons don’t seem primed to set the league on fire in the 2026/27 season. That means if Tampa can re-sign Evans, address their defensive holes, and maybe snag a running back in the draft to back up Bucky Irving, they could very well be in a prime position to capture the division next year.
A One- or Two-Year Deal Makes Sense
This is predicated, in part, on re-signing Evans. The offseason just started, and there are months to get a deal done, but the front office would do well to focus on Evans and to regard him as a priority before some other team decides to make an aggressive bid for the veteran wide receiver. The Buccaneers just signed General Manager Jason Licht and Head Coach Todd Bowles to extensions, which speaks to some degree of stability in their organizational structure.
That matters for player confidence, and it should send a strong signal to Evans that if he wants to come back, there will be reliable hands steering the ship. He can’t expect a long-term deal at 33, but one year at about $4 million with a club option for a second year seems reasonable.
That way, assuming Evans comes back healthy and refreshed after the offseason, he, Baker Mayfield, and company should have a great chance at claiming a division title and giving Evans one more shot at a second ring. Evans is already a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame, but a second Super Bowl victory would put him in truly rarified air, as no other Tampa Bay Buccaneers player has ever captured two championships with the team.
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