Mike Evans left more than money on the table when he signed with the San Francisco 49ers this month. The six-time Pro Bowler agreed to a three-year deal worth $42.5 million with San Francisco after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht confirmed the Buccaneers made a larger offer to keep Evans in the only uniform he’d worn for 12 seasons.
Aqib Talib Suggests Mike Evans Was ‘Done’ With the Buccaneers
Super Bowl champion Aqib Talib didn’t mince words about what might have factored into Evans’ decision to leave the Buccaneers.
“That just shows you, you [Evans] just done with that whole building,” Talib said on “The Arena: Gridiron.” “With the head coach, the GM, the quarterback. He just ain’t feeling that sh*t.”
The NFC West presents a far steeper climb than the division Evans left behind. San Francisco finished 12-5 last season in a conference that included the 14-3 Seahawks and 12-5 Rams. The NFC South, by contrast, produced a three-way tie at 8-9 among the Carolina Panthers, Buccaneers, and the Atlanta Falcons, with Carolina winning the division on a tiebreaker.
“He’s just done with that whole building.”
Mike Evans took less money to go to San Francisco and left Tampa Bay. pic.twitter.com/ZhPs5JLlOh
— The Arena: Gridiron (@ArenaGridiron) March 23, 2026
Evans isn’t chasing the path of least resistance; instead, he’s confident that Kyle Shanahan’s offense gives him a better shot at a second ring than staying in Tampa ever could. At his introductory press conference, Evans made his reasoning clear: “I feel like they were one piece away, and I think that I’m that piece.”
That calculus involves more than just a scheme. Baker Mayfield turned in his worst statistical season in Tampa Bay in 2025, posting his lowest completion percentage (63.2%) and passing yardage (3,693) during his three-year tenure with the Buccaneers. The team collapsed down the stretch, losing seven of its final nine games after opening 6-2.
According to PFSN’s QB Impact Metric, Mayfield finished last season as the 24th-ranked quarterback in the league with an impact score of 73.6. In comparison, in 2024, the Buccaneers star ranked 7th among quarterbacks with an impact score of 85.0.
Todd Bowles’ Job Security Could Have Added to Evans’ Frustration
The Buccaneers’ late-season freefall produced “Fire Bowles” chants from the Raymond James Stadium crowd, particularly after the team blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead against the Falcons. Evans was visibly frustrated after that loss, yelling “Third-and-28!” while heading to the locker room following a defensive breakdown.
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Despite the meltdown, ownership retained Bowles, who now enters next season as one of the most likely candidates to be fired. Evans’ agent, Deryk Gilmore, said his client wanted “a new challenge,” and reports indicated the veteran wideout carefully evaluated the quarterback position, the offensive coordinator, and what his role would be.
Evans joins Brock Purdy and a 49ers offense that has reached the NFC Championship Game three times in five seasons under Shanahan. He’s gambling that San Francisco’s tougher road leads somewhere Tampa Bay couldn’t take him.
