{"id":760878,"date":"2026-02-18T19:14:57","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T19:14:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/760878\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T19:14:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T19:14:57","slug":"mike-evans-lets-baker-mayfield-buccaneers-know-whether-hell-return-for-the-2026-nfl-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/760878\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Evans lets Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers know whether he\u2019ll return for the 2026 NFL season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After a strong run with the <a href=\"https:\/\/bolavip.com\/en\/topic\/tampa-bay-buccaneers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" title=\"Tampa Bay Buccaneers\">Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a>, Mike Evans is approaching free agency. With uncertainty surrounding his future, the veteran wide receiver has informed <a href=\"https:\/\/bolavip.com\/en\/topic\/baker-mayfield\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" title=\"Baker Mayfield\">Baker Mayfield<\/a> and the organization about the possibility of returning for the 2026 NFL season.<\/p>\n<p>The Buccaneers could be facing the loss of a key piece of Mayfield\u2019s offense. <a href=\"https:\/\/bolavip.com\/en\/topic\/mike-evans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" title=\"Evans\">Evans<\/a>\u2019 contract with Tampa Bay has expired, and the star receiver is expected to listen to offers as he explores the open market.<\/p>\n<p>According to Deryk Gilmore, Evans\u2019 agent, the veteran wideout plans to play in 2026, per NFL Media. However, he intends to test free agency to evaluate the best opportunity available \u2014 while not ruling out a potential return to Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n<p>    Mike Evans could be a highly sought-after free agent <\/p>\n<p>Although his 2025 NFL season was not as productive as usual \u2014 largely due to injuries \u2014 Evans remains one of the league\u2019s most reliable receivers. That reputation is expected to draw significant interest from multiple teams this offseason.<\/p>\n<p>Evans has spent 12 seasons with the Buccaneers. In his first 11 years, he surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in every season, failing to reach that milestone in 2025 after missing 10 games due to a broken collarbone and a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n<p>When healthy, Evans is one of the most dependable wide receivers in the NFL. Still, he will need to assure interested teams that he is fully recovered in order to secure a lucrative contract for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n<p>  Which teams could be interested in Mike Evans? <\/p>\n<p>The Buccaneers remain a logical suitor. Evans has been a cornerstone of the franchise despite playing with multiple quarterbacks over the years, and he recently developed strong chemistry with Baker Mayfield.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond Tampa Bay, teams such as the Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders, and Kansas City Chiefs could also monitor his situation closely. Ultimately, Evans\u2019 decision may come down to both financial value and the opportunity to compete for a <a href=\"https:\/\/bolavip.com\/en\/topic\/super-bowl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" title=\"Super Bowl\">Super Bowl<\/a> next season.<\/p>\n<p>SURVEY Should Mike Evans return with the Buccaneers in 2026?<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-poll__title-wrapper__question-xs jsx-3883365378\">Should Mike Evans return with the Buccaneers in 2026?<\/p>\n<p>Yes, it is the best option for him.<\/p>\n<p>No, he should join a Super Bowl contender.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-poll__vote-counter article-poll__vote-counter-6995f56fd1eb01dac3090e32 jsx-3883365378\">already voted 6 fans<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a strong run with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Mike Evans is approaching free agency. With uncertainty surrounding&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":760879,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2077],"tags":[1842,211,7,700,6,704,250,2597,2596],"class_list":{"0":"post-760878","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa-bay-buccaneers","8":"tag-baker-mayfield","9":"tag-buccaneers","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-mike-evans","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-tampa-bay","14":"tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","15":"tag-tampabay","16":"tag-tampabaybuccaneers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116093237884869205","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760878","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=760878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760878\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/760879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=760878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=760878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=760878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}