It’s been an odd start ot the offseason for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, one full of dramatic twists and turns. Fans are sort of used to that at this point, as over the last five years we’ve witnessed the arrival of Tom Brady, his two separate retirements, Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans skipping free agency, and the Liam Coen fiasco.
It’s never a calm offseason for the Bucs, but things usually work out for the best in the end. Evans returning last season when he could have entered free agency is the thing that has perhaps conditioned fans the most.
For everything else that has happened, the idea of losing a franchise legend like Evans was too much to bear. He’s bee singularly important to the team in ways few players have in the franchise’s history and watching him put on another uniform would have been a travesty.
Luckily that didn’t happen and Evans returned to cap the season off with the good kind of dramatics. As he prepares to pass Jerry Rice’s record for consecutive 1,000 yard seasons, though, fans are being reminded that the good times won’t last forever.
Mike Evans hints at when he plans on retiring from the NFL
Evans touched on a number of topics while speaking with the media at the Pro Bowl, one of this seems like a pretty big bomb to drop in such a casual way. He was asked about potentially participating in the 2028 Olympics for Team USA’s flag football squad, and hip checked everyone with a dose of reality.
“I’ll most likely be retired by 2028,” Evans said.
This isn’t entirely shocking, but it still stinks to hear. Evans is going to retire eventually and his timeline seems to match up with where the natural conclusion to his career would be. He’ll be 35 years old and entering his 15th season in the league at that point, which doesn’t mean he won’t still be able to play but it wouldn’t be stunning to see him ride off into the sunset.
The real question is whether Evans will retire before the 2028 season. He’s in the final year of an extension he signed before last season which opens a natural path toward retirement. Evans has stated on numerous occasions he wants to retire having spent his entire career with the Buccaneers, which he’s very much on track to accomplish.
A possible route that could be taken is a path Lavonte David has traveled where Evans signs one-year deals until he decides to hang it up. There’s no guarantee he’ll do that — or that he won’t still leave Tampa Bay — but all signs point toward the twilight of his Hall of Fame career being spent with the Buccaneers.
While hanging up his cleats is seems to be on the horizon, Evans also addressed something a little more immediate for the Buccaneers. Josh Grizzard was officially named the team’s new offensive coordinator this weekend, and Evans endorsed the move while putting pressure on himself to make sure everything works out.
“I like Josh, I think it’s a good hire,” Evans said. “Whoever they chose to hire, it’s my job to get open and make plays for our team.”
This seems to be a perfect encapsulation of where the Buccaneers are at right now, with eyes on the future while still being fully focused on the task at hand in the present. Evans didn’t come back to Tampa Bay last year for fun, he returned to win another Super Bowl before he retires and it seems the vibes toward that remain as strong as ever.
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