The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost two legends this offseason, as linebacker Lavonte David, whose Hall of Fame bid now begins, decided to retire after taking a couple of months to contemplate his decision. Meanwhile, Mike Evans, the other Super Bowl winner, decided to walk away from the team and join another NFC playoff contender in the San Francisco 49ers.
Although Evans spent much of the 2025 season on the injured list, the NFL Icon leaves a huge hole in the Buccaneers roster. He was the No. 1 wide receiver in Tampa Bay for years, reeling off successive 1,000 yard seasons in historic fashion before ultimately succumbing to injury. And even though the Bucs had other talented receivers, the void left by Evans clearly hamstrung the offense.
So if Buccaneers fans are worried about Evans walking away, they only have to look to the optimism of their intrepid leader, general manager Jason Licht, to feel just a little bit less terrible about losing one of the best wide receivers of the last decade.
Buccaneers need Emeka Egbuka and Jalen McMillan to step up in 2026
In an interview with Kevin Clark on the This Is Football podcast, Licht was asked which young players he thinks will rise up the ranks and become big stars for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next season. He put over a host of players, but, in particular, he singled out two young receivers as players he is excited to see big years from, Jalen McMilan and Emeka Egbuka.
Buccaneers fans are definitely excited to see what Egbuka can do in year two after a productive rookie campaign, and even though there has been a narrative from some people that he was disappointing or dropped too many passes, it is wild to fault him for the failings of the team in that second half of the season. It is so hard for any young player to shine with that dysfunction.
And yet McMilan sort of did when he came back from his own injury by the end of the season. These two young men are phenomenal wide receivers in the making, and while Egbuka, the Ohio State product, is the bigger name with more of a spotlight on him, there is a legitimate chance that McMillan can be just as impactful as the new veteran No. 1 in Chris Godwin. Jason Licht sounds excited about how they can lead the receiver corps for the next several years, and Bucs fans should be, too.