The Tampa Bay Buccaneers know they have the greatest wide receiver in franchise history on the roster with veteran Mike Evans — a future Pro Football Hall of Famer who just tied the NFL record with 11 consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons to start his career.
History tells us a player at Evans’ age — he turns 32 years old in August — should be very much in the twilight of his career. Someone just forgot to tell Evans this.
After signing a 2-year, $52 million contract in March 2023, Evans is now in the final year of that deal and could very well be one of the NFL’s most coveted free agents in the 2026 cycle, with The Athletic’s Daniel Popper putting Evans at No. 6 on his list of the Top 30 NFL free agents in 2026.
“In 2024, Evans became the only player in NFL history to begin his career with 11 straight 1,000-yard seasons,” Popper wrote on April 7. “He leads all active receivers with 106 career touchdowns, which rank 21st all time. Evans signed a two-year extension in March 2024. He will turn 32 in August. He remains a matchup nightmare on the outside, and until the production wanes, he is deserving of high placement on this list.”
Evans, the oldest player to make Popper’s list, is also likely deserving of another big time contract. Whether he gets that money from the Buccaneers or someone else is its own storyline we will get to watch play out over the season If Evans puts up another 1,000-yard season and Tampa Bay makes the playoffs for a sixth consecutive time you can almost guarantee he’s coming back.
Evans Battled Back From Injury in 2024
Evans battled back from a hamstring injury that cost him almost 4 whole games in 2024 to hit the 1,000-yard receiving mark and tie Jerry Rice’s record. He also made his sixth career Pro Bowl.
From Buccaneers.com: “Evans’ six Pro Bowl selections ties him with Bucs legend Mike Alstott for the most by an offensive player in franchise history. Only Hall of Fame defenders Derrick Brooks (11) and Warren Sapp (seven) have more. Evans has been voted into the Pro Bowl in five of the last seven seasons.”
Getting Evans back on another deal following 2025 might be as simple as something in the range of another 2-year, $52 million contract offer.
“The Bucs should look to re-sign (Evans) when that time comes,” Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine wrote. “He’s played his entire career in Tampa and it would feel wrong to see him in another jersey.”
Buccaneers Could Be Super Bowl Contenders in 2025
With a healthy Evans and a healthy Chris Godwin back in 2025 along with the emergence of second year wide receiver Jalen McMillan, the Buccaneers could have one of the NFL’s elite wide receiver units in 2025.
Godwin signed a team friendly, 3-year, $66 million contract to stay in Tampa Bay after he suffered a dislocated left ankle that ended his season in Week 7. While McMillan finished his rookie season with a rather pedestrian line of 34 receptions for 461 yards, he had 24 receptions for 316 yards and 7 touchdowns over the final 5 games of the regular season.
