Buccaneers-Mike Evans contract drama, rumors; NFL teams intently watching

Will Mike Evans be a “Buc for life” or will the Tampa Bay Buccaneers star find his name at the height of NFL trade rumors by the 2023 NFL Trade Deadline?  In other words, is this the last season the future Hall-of-Fame wide receiver will play in the red, Bay orange, black, grey, and pewter?

That has emerged as the biggest question for Tampa Bay heading into Week 1 of the NFL season as Evans and his agent have set a deadline of Sept 9 to get a contract extension done that would assure the 30-year-old receiver finishes his career in Tampa.

Evans, who was a top receiver prior to Tom Brady joining to the organization, is currently the No. 17 highest-paid player at the position. Although his best years statistically came prior to Brady, the quarterback-wide receiver connection was one of the top combinations throughout the NFL the last three seasons.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the clock to get a Mike Evans deal done

With Brady officially retired, there is a question as to what the team will take with Baker Mayfield now running the show at quarterback.  If the season doesn’t get off to a good start, could the Buccaneers start to think about a rebuild?  Could that be a wedge in contract negotiations?

Where it is or isn’t, Evans’ and his agent, Deryk Gilmore has put the ball in Tampa’s court.

Here is a statement Gilmore released to NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo:

"“Despite our efforts over the past two years, and the professionalism of Bucs General Manager, Jason Licht, and Assistant General Manager, Mike Greenberg, we have not received an offer to stay in Tampa,” Gilmore said in the statement. “This is disappointing to Mike as he sees other teams step up to keep key pieces and players that are important to their organizations. Many players with his status would have held out of camp to not risk injury, but Mike has continued practicing hard, as always, because he puts his team first.“When you have a player that will be a Hall of Famer and still has four to six more years to make an impact in the league, you move Heaven and Earth to keep him on your team, and we would hope ownership feels the same way.”"

Evans doesn’t always get the buzz as one of the top receives in the NFL, but this man has racked up over 1,000 yards receivers in each of this 9 seasons in the NFL.  That includes 1,124 yards receiving in 2022 at the age of 29.

Want your voice heard? Join the NFL Mocks team!

Write for us!

Still at the height of his prime and showing no signs of a decline, Mike Evans is still a central piece to that Buccaneers’ offense, especially if Mayfield is to fill Brady’s shows as much as he can.  As a player who has helped this team win a Super Bowl back in 2020, Gilmore feels the Bucs should grant his client his wishes.

As Gilmore continues in his statement, the deadline he and his client have set is so Evans can focus solely on football in 2022:

"“That said, we are giving the Bucs until the start of the regular season to make him a Buc for Life, and if that cannot happen, 100 percent of Mike’s focus will be on football and his future and where he can continue to make an impact.”"

NFL teams who should be monitoring the Mike Evans contract situation

With this being the final year of Evans’ current contract, he is set to be a free agent in 2024.  As mentioned above, the team could also opt to trade Evans by the NFL Trade Deadline depending on the state of the team.  The other NFL teams are watching this situation intently, but there are a couple of teams who instantly make sense.  Both teams have a Tom Brady connection.

The first team is obviously the New England Patriots who are still looking for that impact No. 1 receiver.  With Bill O’Brien back as offensive coordinator, Evans would be familiar with the playbook and have an opportunity to come in and really add some flash to an offense led by Mac Jones.

The other team is the Las Vegas Raiders.  Yes, they have Davante Adams, but pairing Adams and Mike Evans in Vegas would be gold for Josh McDaniels who obviously has a connection with Brady during all their years together with the Patriots. Those are just a couple of teams who come to mid.

But the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could make those trade rumors disappear before they even take flight by giving Mike Evans the contract he deserves.