The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are still licking their wounds after a poor 2025 season that saw the franchise miss the playoffs after a 5-1 start.
Todd Bowles will remain as head coach, but the franchise moved on from a host of others, including offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard.
So, a coaching search will now happen, but the franchise also has to figure out which players they want to re-sign and which ones they don't.
One of which is Mike Evans. A free agent, Evans, per Spotrac.com, has a market value of $13.3 million APY. Could the Buccaneers re-sign him?
For ESPN's Jenna Laine, the Buccaneers' biggest offseason priority is clear.
“Re-sign wide receiver Mike Evans,” Laine wrote. “The franchise's all-time leading scorer's contract expires at the end of 2025 and he's undecided about playing next year. He did say after coming back from his broken collarbone injury, "I missed the game more than I thought I would. I come back and I still have love for the game. Who knows what it will do for me in the future?"
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Does Evans deserve to come back in 2026?
Given what he's done for the franchise and what he means to the Bucs, you can make the case that Evans has earned the right to decide if he wants to come back or not.
Of course, money will come into it, with only so much of the salary cap pie to go around, but would Evans entertain a contract that might be seen as a low-ball offer of Spotrac.com's calculated market value?
With a host of star weapons, keeping Evans as long as they can, would be beneficial for Tampa Bay, but the NFL is an unpredictable beast.
And while Evans returning seems like a no-brainer, it might not be as straightforward as many think.
More Buccaneers news:
- Buccaneers get what they deserve after Week 18 disaster
- Buccaneers 'break that spell' in Week 18, but too little, too late?
- No Week 18 pity party for Buccaneers' Todd Bowles
- Buccaneers show ruthless side in huge coaching cull