Wide receiver moves show how fortunate Buccaneers are for Mike Evans

This NFL offseason has been unlike anything we’ve ever seen. The movement of various players, particularly star quarterbacks and wide receivers, has really shined a light on just how lucky the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are for one player, in particular, that’s been so incredibly loyal to the Buccaneers.

It’s pretty safe to say that the 2022 NFL offseason has been one for the history books. We’ve veered more and more into NBA-territory with each passing year as it pertains to player movement, and as we stand today, we may already be there. The movement of star players switching teams primarily at their own behest has been nothing short of unprecedented.

The quarterbacks have been grabbing all of the headlines, and rightfully so. It’s the most important position. Lately, however, the wide receivers have been taking center stage. We saw the Bucs finally sign Chris Godwin to an extension, and also saw some pretty good players like Robert Woods and Allen Robinson on the move, which moved the needle a bit. Then out of nowhere, the needle exploded.

Davante Adams got out of Green Bay to join the team he’s been a lifelong fan of, the Las Vegas Raiders, while Tyreek Hill forced a trade after failing to agree on a long-term contract with the Kansas City Chiefs to head to South Beach and join the Miami Dolphins. Both trades were followed by record paydays. The market will only go up, and one has to imagine someone like Cooper Kupp is licking his chops.

It’s at this time we have to reflect on how lucky the Buccaneers are to have Mike Evans around.

Since entering the NFL in 2014, Evans has gifted Bucs fans with a 1,000-yard receiving season each of his first eight seasons in the league. In doing so, he became the first player in the history of the NFL to go on such a run, which is simply remarkable.

No disrespect to Vincent Jackson, or one of this writer’s personal favorites Kevin House, but Evans is the greatest wide receiver in the history of the Buccaneers, and it honestly isn’t particularly close. Perhaps the most incredible thing about Evans’ millennium-mark production is the cast of characters he had throwing him the ball.

Of course, he’s been eating with Tom Brady, as wide receivers tend to do, as well as when Jameis Winston was under center in Tampa Bay. Despite his faults, Winston is the all-time passing leader in the history of the Bucs franchise by a significant margin. Then of course there are the others. Josh McCown, Mike Glennon, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ryan Griffin, and Blaine Gabbert are the other cast of characters that Evans was so fortunate to have thrown him the pigskin thus far in his career.

Through it all, Evans never once complained, lashed out, or anything of the sort amidst the mayhem. He was the adult in the room with the grown-up-sized skill. Heck, he was the only one who tried to calm down Antonio Brown on the sideline during the now-infamous kerfuffle.

Now, with all these star, or even superstar wide receivers forcing themselves out and getting colossal checks, it’s safe to surmise that Evans will remain the consummate professional throughout the rest of his contract, and potentially beyond.

Mike Evans has been incredibly loyal to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and while he’s been showered with the appropriate admiration for both this and his skill on the field, it’s time for him to get another lather from fans, national and local.