Few players have symbolized the renewal of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a respectable organization in the last decade quite like Mike Evans, who happens to be headed into NFL free agency. Drafted with the seventh overall pick in 2014, Evans has played with a variety of quarterbacks, from Josh McCown and Jamies Winston to Tom Brady and, now, Baker Mayfield. And he has performed—Evans has racked up 10 straight seasons of 1,000 yards receiving and now, even at age 30, is leading the league with 13 touchdowns.
Alas, the predictions on Evans’ future are less than encouraging. In fact, at the contract-dedicated website Spotrac, the projection is that Evans’ anticipated price tag when he hits free agency this offseason will be out of reach for the cap-strapped Buccaneers.
Here’s how Spotrac put it this week, as it looked at potential franchise-tag players: “Despite toppling the 30-year-old mark this past season, Mike Evans hasn’t slowed down one bit. He’ll enter the offseason as arguably the best available weapon in all of football, projecting to a 4 year, $96M contract in our system. With that said, a $28M+ tag price is likely too rich for Tampa Bay to bite on.”
Buccaneers Have a Long List of NFL Free Agency Priorities
The departure of Evans in NFL free agency would be a tough pill to swallow for the Buccaneers, but it’s been clear that a divorce might be a necessity going back to the late summer, when Tampa Bay and Evans could not agree to an NFL contract extension.
The Bucs are projected to have $35 million in “effective” cap space, per OverTheCap.com, but have a long list of to-dos. They will need to work out a new deal for quarterback Baker Mayfield, and that is getting more and more expensive, especially if and when Tampa earns a playoff spot. There is also an extension for top lineman Tristan Wirfs, who has earned an even bigger deal now that he has flipped to the left side of the line.
Safety Antoine Winfield Jr., linebackers Lavonte David and Devin White—there are big-ticket free agents all over the roster, and the Bucs need to either pay them or bring in replacements.
Mike Evans would be missed, but the Buccaneers have confidence in Chris Godwin as a No. 1 option and like rising sixth-round rookie Trey Palmer.
Mike Evans Earned a Pro Bowl Spot
Before the season started, Evans set a deadline for extension talks at the opening of Week 1, and vowed not to talk about his free agency after that, instead focusing on the Buccaneers. He kept to that vow. He was asked in December about his contract situation and said, “When that moment comes it’ll come, but right now, I’m focused on trying to get this team to the playoffs.”
The ability of the Buccaneers to re-sign Evans in NFL free agency has not been helped by the star season he had this year, either, which yielded a Pro Bowl selection. And if he does depart, he would be missed on a number of levels. He brings intelligence and savvy to the receivers room, but more than that, he brings humility in an era of diva star receivers.
“The competitiveness of the guy – he just keeps playing,” offensive coordinator Dave Canales said this week. “He just keeps finding a way to fight, to scrap. … Mike Evans is really just a humble guy, too. There were games [where] he had every right to be frustrated and games that were hard for us and he never turned on the offense. He never made a big scene about Mike and these things.
“He just kept working and he found a way to get himself back to focus by the next drive. That’s been a blessing for me and something that I really respect out of him.”
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Buccaneers Predicted to Lose Star With ‘Too Rich’ Price in NFL Free Agency