It’s certainly hard to imagine legendary Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans catching passes for any franchise but the one he’s played with since he was drafted No. 7 overall in the 2014 NFL draft.
That’s why the possibility of Evans simply hanging it up and deciding to retire after 12 seasons is a real thing, even though it was a year in which he missed a career-high 9 games due to injuries and finished with career lows of 30 receptions for 368 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield weighed in on what he think Evans might do in 2026, even though the 2 haven’t spoken since their win over the Carolina Panthers in the regular season finale.
“Here’s the thing,” Mayfield said on “The Ronde Barber Show” on Wednesday. “I don’t have to really plea with him, because Mike’s too much of a competitor and cares too much about Tampa to end his career without 1,000 yards, without a division championship, without a playoff run. And that, first of all, speaks to who Mike is. But that’s the truth. And you know, he doesn’t want to do that. And, you know, you could just kind of feel it. And listen, I don’t have any info. I told Mike, ‘This is your decision. Take your time doing it.’ But understanding who Mike is, that is my guess, that he didn’t want it to end this way.”
Evans’ NFL Record Streak Ended in 2025
Evans, almost more than any other Buccaneers, seemed visibly frustrated by his team’s struggles down the stretch as they lost 7 of their last 9 games to finish the season 8-9 and miss the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
It was also a year in which Evans failed to set the NFL record with his 12th consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season and break a tie with Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice.
Whatever Mayfield’s speculation might be, there’s still conversations to be had about if he will come back to Tampa Bay after playing out the 2-year, $52 million contract he signed before the 2024 season.
Evans is a 6-time Pro Bowler, 2-time NFL All-Pro and Super Bowl champion.
“Mike Evans hasn’t made any decisions about his career or had the first conversation with the Bucs or his agent about his plans,” Tampa Bay Times NFL reporter Rick Stroud wrote on his official X account on Thursday. ” … Again, neither the Bucs or his agent has had the first conversation with Mike Evans about his plans for 2026 and I’ve spoken to both.”
Bucs Have New Face Leading Offense
One thing Mayfield speculated might tempt Evans back to Tampa Bay is new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, who takes over for the recently fired Josh Grizzard.
Mayfield’s first 2 offensive coordinators were there for 1 season each before becoming NFL head coaches, with Dave Canales going to the Carolina Panthers after the 2023 season and Liam Coen to the Jacksonville Jaguars after the 2024 season.
“Zac will do great things for us, and we’ll go from there,” Mayfield told Barber. “But Mike’s got more in the tank. You could tell with the energy, the fire he had at the end of the year.”
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