Buccaneers' Mike Evans gets $20 million contract option contending with retirement

Billy Heyen

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Buccaneers' Mike Evans gets $20 million contract option contending with retirement image

Mike Evans' future hasn't been discussed as much this season.

That likely has to do with the fact that the legendary wide receiver has been out injured much of the season. It's still something to keep an eye on with this Tampa Bay Buccaneers star heading into Week 18.

The Bucs will play Saturday against the Carolina Panthers. If they win (and the Falcons lose Sunday), Tampa Bay goes to the playoffs.

If the Buccaneers lose to the Panthers, their season is over.

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Whenever it comes to an end, Evans will have a decision to make.

Complicating matters is the fact that Evans' contract is up at the end of this season, so he'll conceptually be a free agent.

The Ringer's Austin Gayle, though, sees Evans coming back to the Bucs on a $20 million contract.

"If Evans doesn’t hang them up, the Bucs could bring him back on a one-year deal somewhere in the $15 million to $20 million range," Gayle writes. "Evans is making $20 million per year on his current deal, and other receivers in his age range (Cooper Kupp, Stefon Diggs, and Davante Adams) all signed short-term deals from $15 million to $22 million per year last offseason. That honestly feels like a bargain for a future Hall of Famer who can still be a matchup nightmare any given Sunday."

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Star quarterback Baker Mayfield surely wouldn't mind bringing Evans back.

He can continue to be a mentor in the WR room while being a threat on key plays and in the red zone.

This hasn't been the kind of ending Evans would've liked, you wouldn't think. Maybe he'll come back and try to finish stronger.

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