A lot of questions will be answered over the next few weeks for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Top of mind at the moment is whether the team will make the playoffs, something we could get a pretty good indication of on Sunday.
One of the larger questions hanging over everything revolves around Mike Evans’ future with the team.
He’s set to become a free agent this offseason but that’s not what has Bucs fans nervous. Evans will be wrapping up his 11th season in the NFL and many have speculated that retirement could be on the horizon.
Evans was asked directly about his future while speaking with the media this week, and while he didn’t give a definitive answer what he did say should make Bucs fans feel a little better.
”I haven’t really even thought about it, honestly. I was just going to wait until the season’s over. I’m just trying to focus as much as I can on the season” Evans said. “We’re human and have to think about the future but I’ve really been trying to lock in and help this team make the playoffs.”
Mike Evans addresses retirement rumors ahead of critical final stretch of Buccaneers’ season
He ended things by saying “time will tell”, however reiterated that he isn’t closing the door on playing not only next season but beyond.
Asked about saying he could be retiring “soon,” Mike Evans clarifies that could mean three or four more years. Asked about No. 13 playing a 13th season in 2026, he says reporters are “speaking it into existence.”
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) December 17, 2025
On the scale of worrying about Evans leaving in free agency versus retiring, the needle is pretty heavily skewed to the latter side. Two years ago he had the chance to leave for either Houston or Kansas City but decided to sign an extension with the Bucs in the 11th hour before the free agency tampering period opened.
It was a decision he had been hinting at for some time, even if Evans remained noncommittal. A common thread throughout the saga of wondering if he’d return to Tampa was how important it was to Evans for him to play his entire career with one franchise.
He’s still an elite reciever and would be justified in chasing a ring somewhere else in the NFL but his decision to return then feels like what is at stake now in that the Bucs are that team he can chase another Super Bowl with.
These final few weeks could illuminate what he ultimately decides to do.
If the Bucs end the season on a whimper, losing to the Panthers and missing the playoffs, it might be hard for Evans to muster up the motivation to return for one last rodeo. Then again, he might not want to go out on such a down note considering how illustrious and iconic his Hall of Fame career has been.
Bucs fans would clearly love to have one more season with him, and Evans showed his will to play by returning early from a broken clavicle. He also clearly still deeply cares about the team and winning, something that was evident when he stormed off the field early during Week 15’s crushing loss to the Falcons.
But as the man himself said, only time will tell.