If the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans have one personal wish for their team's leadership and General Manager Jason Licht, then it is to keep Mike Evans around in the Bay Area. And finally, it looks like the Bucs are willing to actually fight to convince the superstar wide receiver to stay on Dale Mabry.
According to a report from ESPN's Jenna Laine, the Buccaneers met with Evans's reps Darren Johnes and Derryk Gilmore during the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis a couple of nights ago and have been "aggressively" in pursuit of re-signing him. It's the first time we have heard of the Bucs actively pushing hard to keep Evans and negotiate at the bargaining table, rather than passively waiting for the wideout to decide.
Super Bowl contendes like the San Francisco 49ers and Buffalo Bills are being increasingly linked to perennial 1,000 yard wideout Evans as a veteran piece who can take them over the top. Because the only reason why Evans did not continue history with another 1,000 yard season last year was injury, and when he did return to action late in the second, you could easily see that 1) he's still got it and 2) he is one of the most important players to the Bucs and makes them tick on offense.
The Bucs are now pushing hard in talks with Mike Evans
The Bucs were listless without Evans, and so the more intensive approach to keep him is 100 percent warranted. Perhaps the Bucs got the kick in the pants they needed by seeing how much smoke was coming out of the kitchens in Buffalo, San Francisco, and other top NFL ball clubs interested in giving their star quarterbacks a massive, ultra reliable X receiver.
Baker Mayfield is already dealing with enough issues, turnover, and instability in Tampa Bay right now with Todd Bowles at the helm and a collapse hanging over his head, so losing a weapon like Evans and all that he means to him and the organization would be a massive blow.
There is no guarantee Evans stays, but given the mayor of Tampa named a literal holiday in the city after him, it is going to be hard for the Texas A&M alumn to say no and join a different playoff contender. The Bucs have a lot of depth at wide receiver and young weapons like Emeka Egbuka, Jalen McMillan, and Tez Johnson coming up alongside Evans and Chris Godwin as the main weapons, but they still need Big Mike.