{"id":759916,"date":"2026-02-18T08:27:47","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T08:27:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/759916\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T08:27:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T08:27:47","slug":"mike-evans-wont-retire-will-explore-2026-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/759916\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Evans Won\u2019t Retire, Will Explore 2026 Free Agency"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a> wide receiver Mike Evans<\/a> will return for his 13th NFL<\/a> season in 2026, according to Tampa Bay Times reporter Rick Stroud<\/a>. Evans\u2019 agent, Deryk Gilmore, shared that Evans is \u201copening it up\u201d, meaning the longtime Buccaneer is considering signing with a new franchise for the first time in his professional career.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe will play next season with someone,\u201d Gilmore explained. \u201cIt could be Tampa but will definitely play a 13th season.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Despite his injury-plagued 2025, Evans is one of the best players on the market this offseason. The six-time Pro Bowler is expected to generate significant interest around the league now that he\u2019s confirmed to return next season.<\/p>\n

\"Sep<\/p>\n

Sep 21, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) gives his touchdown ball to a fan during a game against the New York Jets in the second quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn ImagesNathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

(Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a chance this is the classic agent play, in which Evans\u2019 agent says his client \u201cwants to explore other options\u201d to drive up Tampa Bay’s contract offer. However, Evans will be 33 when the 2026 season begins and likely wants to ensure he has a realistic shot at a second Super Bowl<\/a> in what could be his final season. He may not be convinced such an opportunity exists in Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n

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Most teams around the league will likely be interested in signing Evans, but the most heavily discussed landing spot for the star receiver is with the Bills, where he could be instrumental in kick-starting the Joe Brady era in Buffalo alongside Josh Allen<\/a>. Other potential fits include Baltimore with Lamar Jackson<\/a> and New England with the MVP runner-up, Drake Maye<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Where Evans lands in 2026 will be one of the most heavily discussed topics of the offseason, but Buccaneer fans surely hope the franchise legend decides to stay for one more year.<\/p>\n

Related: Three Potential Landing Spots for Pro-Bowl Edge Rusher Bradley Chubb<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports<\/a> on Feb 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL<\/a> section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans will return for his 13th NFL season in 2026, according to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":716311,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2077],"tags":[215,211,108505,833,7,895,700,255,6,209,704,250,41886,2597,2596,1473],"class_list":{"0":"post-759916","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa-bay-buccaneers","8":"tag-bills","9":"tag-buccaneers","10":"tag-deryk-gilmore","11":"tag-drake-maye","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-lamar-jackson","14":"tag-mike-evans","15":"tag-new-york-jets","16":"tag-nfl","17":"tag-tampa","18":"tag-tampa-bay","19":"tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","20":"tag-tampa-bay-times","21":"tag-tampabay","22":"tag-tampabaybuccaneers","23":"tag-wide-receiver"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116090695490475458","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759916","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=759916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/716311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=759916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=759916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=759916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}