The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a handful of quality players set to hit free agency this year, but the biggest name is by far Mike Evans, who is one of the best wide receivers of his era. Bucs fans are holding out hope that Evans will think of them and nobody else when he tests the waters for the first time this March, but there are rumblings he could be looking for a new challenge.
Perhaps the most concerning of the rumors comes from legendary fantasy football analyst, turned NFL insider, Matthew Berry, who firmly believes Evans will be playing for another team in 2026. After hearing the latest NFL Combine buzz, Berry said, via Sleeper Bucs, “I truly believe he’ll be in a new uniform next year. The Buccaneers love him, but given the commitment they made to Chris Godwin last year and a deep young WR room, Tampa Bay is okay letting him go elsewhere…”
There seem to be some Bucs fans and analysts who are thinking more and more about passing on Evans in free agency, saving on the cap space, and letting the young guns like Emeka Egbuka and Jalen McMillan loose next season with Chris Godwin as the vetearn WR1 in the building.
The Buccaneers might lose Mike Evans in free agency
But if you ask the diehard Buccaneers fans and those in Tampa Bay, they would not want to lose Evans for any price. The other thing is, Evans leaving the Buccaneers would make them weaker at a time when they are pushing hard to advance to being Super Bowl contenders again, and the kinds of teams Evans wants to play for are Super Bowl contenders like potentially the Buffalo Bills or San Francisco 49ers.
Evans is not going to be cheap, and he may cost even more than expected since he is going to be signing short term deals from here on out. But he is still the WR1 for the Buccaneers, and that fact was only reinforced by how much worse the Bucs offense ran without him due to injury.
Berry's information is of concern but not necessarily airtight, and there is nothing concrete linking Evans away from the Buccaneers. His agent is making demands and wanting as much money and the best situation possible for his client, but that is his job. It is hard seeing the Bucs actually turning down Evans if he wants to stay, and, likewise, it is hard to see him wanting to leave. But Bucs fans will pray that Evans is not swayed.