{"id":759635,"date":"2026-02-18T05:05:29","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T05:05:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/759635\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T05:05:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T05:05:29","slug":"mike-evans-committed-to-2026-nfl-season-with-buccaneers-future-uncertain-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/759635\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Evans committed to 2026 NFL season with Buccaneers future uncertain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mike Evans isn\u2019t finished.<\/p>\n

The star wide receiver will return to the NFL in 2026, according to ESPN\u2019s Kimberley Martin<\/a> \u2014 but it might not be in Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n

Evans\u2019 agents, Deryk Gilmore and Darren Jones, told Martin that the veteran will \u201cexplore his free agency options\u201d this offseason, leaving his future with the Buccaneers up in the air.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Evans, who turns 33 before next season, has spent his entire career, which will likely end with enshrinement in Canton, Ohio, with the Bucs.<\/p>\n

\"Buccaneers<\/p>\n

Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) reacts after catching a pass against Atlanta Falcons safety Jessie Bates III (3). IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

The No. 7 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, Evans won Super Bowl 2021 with Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n

A six-time Pro Bowler, Evans has caught 866 passes for 13,052 yards with 108 touchdowns throughout his 12-year career.<\/p>\n

Evans started his career with 11 straight 1,000-yard seasons, tying a record set by Jerry Rice, a streak that ended last season due to a concussion and clavicle injury that limited him to just eight games.<\/p>\n

Two years ago, Evans appeared ready to test the open market before staying with the only NFL team he\u2019s ever known.<\/p>\n

\"Tampa<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) looks on during warmups before the game against the Atlanta Falcons at Raymond James Stadium. Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Days before the free agency period began in 2024, Evans struck a deal with the Bucs<\/a>, signing a two-year, $52 million contract with $35 million guaranteed to stay in Tampa Bay through this past season.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

At the time, Evans\u2019 average of $26 million per season was fourth-most among NFL wide receivers behind Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams and Cooper Kupp.<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay finished 8-9 last season, falling short of the postseason for the first time in six years.<\/p>\n

Despite the disappointing finish, the team opted to hang on to head coach Todd Bowles, but he fired five assistant coaches<\/a> as part of an overhaul for next season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mike Evans isn\u2019t finished. The star wide receiver will return to the NFL in 2026, according to ESPN\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":759636,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2074],"tags":[223,254,2554,1081,108483,5430,224,7,13220,2664,41309,700,6,5639,704,250,1089,1473],"class_list":{"0":"post-759635","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-atlanta-falcons","8":"tag-atlanta","9":"tag-atlanta-falcons","10":"tag-atlantafalcons","11":"tag-cooper-kupp","12":"tag-darren-jones","13":"tag-davante-adams","14":"tag-falcons","15":"tag-football","16":"tag-jerry-rice","17":"tag-jessie-bates-iii","18":"tag-kimberley-martin","19":"tag-mike-evans","20":"tag-nfl","21":"tag-raymond-james-stadium","22":"tag-tampa-bay","23":"tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","24":"tag-tyreek-hill","25":"tag-wide-receiver"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116089896539751684","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=759635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759635\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/759636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=759635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=759635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=759635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}