The Buffalo Bills have neglected their need for a high-end wide receiver for long enough, and the 2025 season confirmed that Josh Allen’s splendid talent can only take the team so far when the postseason comes around. Free agency is going to be huge for Brandon Beane.
Even though he is not what he was during his athletic peak, Tampa Bay Buccaneers franchise legend Mike Evans is still slated to have a robust market in free agency, which could lead to him bolting Central Florida for what would be the first time in a long and storied career.
ESPN listed Evans as one of the top free agents on the market, and Buffalo was right at the top in terms of potential matches for him. While the idea of Evans coming to the Bills seems like a home run, there are plenty of pitfalls that could easily upend whatever positivity comes out of this signing.
If his name wasn’t Mike Evans, would signing a receiver in his mid 30s with recent injury history and a lack of great speed be considered the move that will help Allen finally break through when the calendar flips to January?
Bills must be weary of Bucs great Mike Evans in free agency
Evans finally saw his streak of consecutive 1,000-yard seasons come to an end after an early-season injury ate into his playing time. With Chris Godwin and Emeka Egbuka already installed in Tampa Bay, Evans is essentially being demoted in favor of a younger generation of pass-catchers.
Evans is a solid role player who can still make plays in the red zone. However, his name may try to fool some teams into thinking he can raise the ceiling of an entire wide receiver room by himself, and his days of performing at that level may be in the rear-view mirror.
The Bills don’t need another solid WR2 to add to the pot. What they need is one game-breaker who can be trusted to win one-on-one matchups with ease against the best teams in the AFC. That may come via trade or the NFL Draft, but it won’t be Evans in his current form.
If the Bills get Evans on a super-cheap one-year deal, that’s one thing. If they hand him a big multi-year contract based on his past performance, we could see an offensive version of the Von Miller contract coming back to haunt this team’s balance sheet.