After superstar quarterback Tom Brady announced that he was retiring after the 2022 NFL season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were put in a difficult situation to replace arguably the greatest quarterback in league history.
Fortunately for Tampa Bay, the team took a chance on former No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield, and the gamble paid off as he was able to lead the team to an NFC South division title and a playoff berth as a result.
Along with the team exceeding expectations with Mayfield leading the way, Tampa Bay was able to get the best of the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles in the first round of the NFL playoffs.
One of the main reasons for Mayfield’s success in his first year with Tampa Bay was the consistency of veteran wide receiver Mike Evans, who once again had a stellar year with the Buccaneers, recording his 10th straight season with 1,000 receiving yards or more.
However, now Evans can leave the team in NFL free agency, which led to many thinking Tampa Bay was content with that, until general manager Jason Licht said the following about the veteran wideout, via Jenna Laine of ESPN.
“He’s an unprecedented player,” Licht said. “We want him to be a Buc for life. We’re working towards that. Obviously it takes two sides, I know he wants to be a Buc, we’ll probably have to strain a little bit but we’re working towards that right now…”
Bucs GM Jason Licht on Mike Evans: “He’s an unprecedented player. We want him to be a Buc for life. We’re working towards that. Obviously it takes two sides, I know he wants to be a Buc, we’ll probably have to strain a little bit but we’re working towards that right now…” pic.twitter.com/fhGhDNRdbZ
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) February 27, 2024
Even though Licht and company want Evans to be a Buc for life, they’ll definitely have some competition on the open market, as he’ll be a hot commodity for teams in need of an upgrade at the receiver position.
Only time will tell if Evans’ immediate future will be with the Buccaneers or another franchise.
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