For the past decade, it’s been hard to point to a more consistent NFL wide receiver than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Mike Evans. However, the superstar has battled injuries in his 12th season, already missing six games in 2025.
With his contract set to expire at the end of the season, his injuries have raised questions about his future in Tampa Bay, and one NFL insider recently shared insight on what his career could look like after this year.
Insider Sheds Light on Mike Evans’ Buccaneers Future
Evans has been one of the NFL’s top receivers since the Buccaneers selected him with the seventh overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. He’s recorded over 1,000 yards in 11 straight seasons, earned two second-team All-Pro honors, and six Pro Bowl selections.
However, 2025 has been a tough year for the veteran wideout. After missing three games with a hamstring injury in Week 3, he broke his collarbone in Week 7 against the Detroit Lions, which required surgery. It has put him on injured reserve since.
The timetable for his recovery is six to eight weeks, and he’s expected to return this season. However, at the end of the year, he will become a free agent as his two-year, $41 million contract extension will expire.
Heading into the 2025 season, it was a forgone conclusion that the Buccaneers would bring back Evans, who has been with the team for over a decade. However, with his injuries this year, NFL insider Jeremy Fowler believes his future in Tampa Bay is now uncertain.
Fowler explained that while Evans is still a difference-maker on the field, his collarbone injury could lead the Buccaneers to let him walk. He also noted that, given the wide receiver’s age, retirement isn’t off the table.
“Evans is in his career twilight — retirement is not off the table — but he’s still awesome when he’s on the field as a perennial top-10 receiver in the pantheon,” Folwer wrote.
He continued, “It’s hard to picture Evans in any other uniform. Gauging his market will be tricky because of his lengthy stint on IR due to a broken collarbone, but high-end talent that ages well always earns.”
While Evans hasn’t been on the field much this year, he’s still been excellent when playing, as Fowler noted. Although Tampa Bay could potentially let him walk, their offense has struggled without him, ranking 21st in the NFL this season according to PFSN’s OFFi metric.
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It’s hard to name another Buccaneer who has had a greater impact on the organization. While Evans’ collarbone injury is concerning, his history in Tampa Bay and the team’s offensive struggles without him make it likely they’ll bring him back unless he chooses to retire.
It will be interesting to see how the Buccaneers move forward with Evans once the season ends, but as Fowler mentions, it’s impossible to imagine him in a different uniform.