Mike Evans walked away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason, with the expectation that joining the San Francisco 49ers will give him a better chance at competing for a Super Bowl.
But Evans just walked into the NFL’s most difficult division, and his path to the postseason might’ve been easier in Tampa Bay.
Mike Evans might’ve made a major mistake choosing 49ers over Buccaneers
If you’re going to walk away from the franchise where you spent 12 years and built a legendary legacy, you ought to be quite sure that the grass is greener on the other side.
Evans wants to win another Super Bowl before he retires, and frankly, he lost hope that he could accomplish that in Tampa Bay after the team collapsed and went 8-9 last season.
On paper, the move makes sense. San Francisco has reached the playoffs in four of the last five seasons, including three seasons of 12 or more wins. The Bucs have never won more than 10 games with Todd Bowles as head coach.
But as consistent as the 49ers have been, Evans chose the worst possible time to sign there.
Two of his new division rivals, the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams, met in the NFC Championship last season. There’s a real argument that they’re the two best teams in the entire NFL.
The Rams have bolstered their roster even further this offseason, trading for two-time All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, and also trading for Myles Garrett, who is coming off a historic 23-sack season.
The Seahawks are coming off a Super Bowl victory, and the path included a 41-6 thrashing of the 49ers. The Rams are the heavy Super Bowl favorites entering the upcoming season.
That leaves the 49ers, despite being a great team, widely projected to finish in third place in the division, fighting for a wild card spot.
Tampa Bay on the other hand, plays in one of the NFL’s weakest divisions, where the Carolina Panthers reached the playoffs with just an 8-9 record last season. Sure, the ceiling is much higher in San Francisco, but the overall path is much more difficult.
The Buccaneers are currently the favorites to win the NFC South, and are far more likely to host a home playoff game than the 49ers.
10 wins would likely earn Tampa Bay a division title and a playoff spot, while 10 wins in the NFC West will likely see the 49ers as a third-place team, and at best, a No. 6 seed in the playoff bracket.
When Evans left Tampa Bay, he said he wanted a new challenge late in his career. Well he certainly has a challenge now.
Bucs fans will always love Mike Evans, but it’s hard not to hope that his decision to give up on the Bucs doesn’t prove to be the wrong one in the long run.
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