Mike Evans has his eyes set on breaking one of Jerry Rice’s records

If you were to look at any of the national coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, you’d probably come to the conclusion that they’re being allowed to play in the NFL as a generous act of charity.

Ever since Tom Brady retired, the Bucs have been tossed to the scrap heap in just about every way imaginable. From trolling the signing of Baker Mayfield, to already assuming the team will be drafting in the Top 3 next year, to deeming them the second-worst team in the NFL.

Did you know they don’t even have a head coach? Todd Bowles has already been fired more times than we can count even though Week 1 is still months away.

To be fair, it’s not hard to see why the perception of the Bucs is so aggressively negative. The team lost Brady after the worst season of his career which would indicate the team is already in a nosedive. Folks who jump to that conclusion are consistently overlooking the insane talent that didn’t leave Tampa Bay — specifically another all-time great who still remains with the team.

Mike Evans has his eyes set on breaking one of Jerry Rice’s records

KPRC anchor Ari Alexander asked Mike Evans about chasing one of Jerry Rice’s records, something that the Bucs receiver confirms he has his eyes set on. While Evans has a ways to go before he even comes close to any of Rice’s top all-time receiving records, he’s quietly nearing one of the most difficult ones to match.

Evans says he’s on a mission to break Rice’s record for consecutive 1,000 yard seasons.

“I think about it,” Evans said. “It’s right there, so I’m going to definitely try to get that. I’m already one of one right now. I hope I can pass the great Jerry Rice and his record. Obviously, nobody will pass his records, probably like ever total. But that 1,000-yard streak record would be cool to have.”

Right now Evans has the streak at nine, as he’s gone over 1,000 yards in each season of his career so far. He still has three seasons to go before he breaks Rice’s streak, which stands at 11 consecutive seasons — which is absolutely insane to fathom.

Depending on the quarterbacks and offenses he plays with the rest of his career, Evans has an outside chance of catching the major all-time records Rice holds. Entering this season, Evans is fourth among active receivers in total yards, ranking just behind DeAndre Hopkins, DeSean Jackson, and Julio Jones. However, his 10,425 yards is still only good for 45th all-time, and is over 12,000 yards behinds Rice’s all-time record of 22,895.

As for the other records, Evans is tied for 30th all-time in receiving touchdowns with 81 which puts him 116 touchdowns behind Rice. The furthest record Evans is away from is career receptions, where he has 683 to Rice’s 1,549. Of all Rice’s records, that’s the likeliest to fall, with a handful of active players like Travis Kelce and Davante Adams within 800 receptions but it’s still going to take Herculean efforts — even in today’s offense — to break the record.

The point is, Evans is not only on his way to being one of the greatest wide receivers of all-time, but he’s playing with a purpose. This is a guy who has regularly been left off out of the conversation as the best receiver in the NFL today and was recently slammed as no longer being elite.

Evans has many good years ahead of him, and it’s clear he’s not planning on slowing down any time soon. It’s yet another reminder that the Bucs are being slept on from top to bottom by the media, but nobody in the locker room is planning on taking their foot off the gas anytime soon.