Tampa Bay Buccaneers Mike Evans is staying home where it all began and will not test the free-agent market after all.
The Buccaneers and Evans have agreed to a two-year, $52 million contract that includes $35 million guaranteed, to keep the star wide receiver in Tampa Bay, NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo reported on Good Morning Football on Monday, according to sources close to the situation.
“Fire Them Cannons!” Evans posted to social media on Monday.
Making sure Evans did not reach the open market, where he could have been courted by the highest bidder, is a big sigh of relief for Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht and his quest to keep the lion’s share of the NFC South champions’ roster together in 2024.
“He’s an unprecedented player. We want him to be a Buc for life,” general manager Licht said last week at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
‘Father Time’ has not tapped Evans on the shoulder and slowed him down one step, as he still finds ways to separate and get open and can win at every level. The $26 million-per-year average places Evans fourth among all receivers and underscores the Bucs’ belief that he will remain one of the top pass catchers in the entire league. It highlights a nearly $10 million-per-year leap from the five-year, $82.5 million extension Evans inked in 2018 that he played out.
The deal puts into focus a path for Evans to potentially play his entire career in Tampa.
By far the most accomplished and decorated receiver in Buccaneers history, Evans has compiled 10 1,000-plus-yard receiving seasons in his decade in Tampa, a record for a receiver to start a career. Evans’ 11,680 total receiving yards are 4,990 more than the next-closest Buc all-time (Chris Godwin, 6,690), and his 94 touchdown catches are 60 more than No. 2 (Godwin, 34).
When Evans turned the ’dreaded’ 30 years old last season, he did not slow down, generating 1,255 yards and 13 touchdowns, which tied for most in the NFL. Those stats could have been even better if former offensive coordinator Dave Canales had force-fed him the ball. In the Bucs’ Divisional Round playoff loss to the Detroit Lions, 31-23, Evans went crazy for a whopping 147 yards on eight receptions with a score.
While the Buccaneers were steadfast that they wanted Evans back in the fold this offseason, there was some sense that the veteran could price himself out of Tampa at this stage of his career. The organization has a number of high-profile free agents, including safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (potential franchise tag) and quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Locking down Evans before the offseason negotiating window even kicks off gives Licht some wiggle room to work with as he attempts to run it back with last year’s core. Ensuring the top wideout did not move on could also add more incentive for Mayfield to return to Tampa in 2024. Mayfield stumped for a return along with Evans after the season. One of those pieces is in place. Now it is up to the journeyman signal caller.
The Bucs selected Evans seventh overall in the 2014 NFL draft out of Texas A&M, making him Licht’s first draft selection as general manager. Since then, Evans has become one of the NFL’s elite receivers, with five Pro Bowl nods (2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023).
Evans gets it done off the field as well. A three-time Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee, Evans and wife Ashli’s Mike Evans Family Foundation has provided over $470,000 in scholarships to students in Florida and Texas, while also assisting victims of domestic violence. In 2023, Evans wrote a children’s book called “The Middle School Rules of Mike Evans,” highlighting the adversity Evans faced in losing his father, Mickey, and growing up in Galveston post-Hurricane Ike.
