Mike Evans will keep his options open as he heads into free agency for the first time in his NFL career, the Athletic’s Diana Russini reported. Evans, 32, has spent his first 12 years playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Evans is coming off the worst season of his NFL career. For the first time, he finished with fewer than 1,000 receiving yards. He had tied Jerry Rice for the most consecutive seasons with 1,000 receiving yards with 11. The six-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro finished the year with 30 catches for 368 yards and 3 touchdowns. Evans also played a career-low eight games after missing time last season with a hamstring strain, a broken collarbone and a concussion.
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Despite coming off a down season, Evans should have plenty of suitors in free agency. The Los Angeles Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, Washington Commanders and New York Giants reportedly have interest if Evans does not re-sign with the Buccaneers. The Bills were also a team expected to be in the mix before they acquired wide receiver DJ Moore from the Chicago Bears on Thursday.
The Buccaneers reportedly want to keep Evans. Since being taken by the Bucs with the seventh pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, Evans has been a go-to target. Evans has led the team in receiving yards in nine of his 12 seasons and was the receiving touchdowns co-leader in 2023. Evans also won the Super Bowl with the Bucs in 2021.
If the Bucs can’t retain Evans, expect wide receivers Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin Jr., and Jalen McMillan to have increased workloads. Egbuka had a strong start as a rookie, becoming one of the early favorites for Offensive Rookie of the Year. Once Evans, Godwin, and McMillan returned to the lineup, Egbuka saw fewer targets during the second half of the season. He still led the team with 63 catches for 938 yards and 6 touchdowns last season.
The Bucs are looking to rebound after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2019. After the season, the Bucs fired offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard and hired Zac Robinson.