{"id":774158,"date":"2026-02-24T22:03:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T22:03:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/774158\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T22:03:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T22:03:17","slug":"mike-evans-linked-with-move-to-nfc-north-contender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/774158\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Evans linked with move to NFC North contender"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans has been one of the most popular names around the NFL ahead of free agency. Evans will enter the free market in March, as the Bucs don\u2019t seem to be all-in on bringing him back.<\/p>\n

An injury limited him to eight games in 2025. Evans caught 30 passes on 61 targets for 368 yards and three touchdowns. While his 1,000-yard streak came to an end, Evans demonstrated that he can still be impactful.<\/p>\n

MORE: 5 best NFL free agency landing spots for Mike Evans<\/a><\/p>\n

With his future up in the air, Vito Chirco of Sports Illustrated mentioned the Detroit Lions<\/a> as a potential landing spot for the veteran.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvans, who has spent the first 12 seasons of his career in Tampa Bay, has the credentials of a future Pro Football Hall of Famer,\u201d Chirco wrote. \u201cMost notably, he recorded north of 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first 11 seasons (2014-2024). During this same period, he also earned six Pro Bowl nods and won a Super Bowl (Super Bowl LV).\u201d<\/p>\n

Evans\u2019 injury history could be a major question mark for the Lions or whoever acquires his services.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll be 33 entering the 2026 season, and his best years may be behind him now after suffering through an injury-riddled 2025 campaign,\u201d Chirco wrote.<\/p>\n

MORE: Baker Mayfield sends strong message about Mike Evans amid exit rumors<\/a><\/p>\n

Mike Evans linked with the Buffalo Bills too<\/p>\n

\"\"Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13). Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Buffalo Bills need to add a new WR1 after seeing Stefon Diggs leave after the 2023 season. With Joe Brady taking over as head coach, they could kickstart the new era with Evans joining forces with quarterback Josh Allen.<\/p>\n

\u201cA return to Tampa Bay is clearly an option for Evans, but becoming the top receiver in Buffalo with quarterback Josh Allen makes a lot of sense, too,\u201d ESPN\u2019s Matt Bowen wrote.<\/p>\n

Evans isn\u2019t as sought-after as George Pickens, but he will surely have a market this year.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories on The Big Lead <\/a>\u2014<\/p>\n

OLYMPICS: Final 2026 Winter Olympics medal count, standings<\/a><\/p>\n

NFL: 4 blockbuster NFL trades we want to see before the 2026 draft<\/a><\/p>\n

NFL DRAFT: 2026 NFL Scouting Combine day-to-day TV schedule, how to watch<\/a><\/p>\n

MLB: MLB Power Rankings as 2026 Spring Training begins<\/a><\/p>\n

NBA: Updated NBA Power Rankings as a new week begins<\/a><\/p>\n

VIRAL: Watch Johnny Gaudreau\u2019s children join Team USA hockey gold medal celebration<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans has been one of the most popular names around the NFL…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":717093,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2077],"tags":[211,113,7,700,6,704,250,2597,2596],"class_list":{"0":"post-774158","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa-bay-buccaneers","8":"tag-buccaneers","9":"tag-detroit-lions","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":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774158","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=774158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774158\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/717093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=774158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=774158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=774158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}