Mike Evans has spent all 12 of his seasons in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Prior to his injury-shortened 2025, he had surpassed 1,000 receiving yards every single season. That’s tied with Jerry Rice for the longest streak in league history. There’s a good chance he’ll end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday.
However, Evans’ future with the Buccaneers could come into question this offseason. He will test the free agency market in 2026, which will be the first time in his career that he’s actually hit the open market. With Tampa Bay using a first-round pick on Emeka Egbuka last year, there’s no guarantee the veteran returns.
There’s also the possibility that Evans retires this offseason, seeing as how he’s 32 and has already made six Pro Bowls and won a Super Bowl. Should he become a free agent, though, these five NFL teams would make sense as potential landing spots.
New York Jets
Garrett Wilson led the New York Jets in receiving yards in 2025, despite missing nine games. He was the only receiver they had who graded in the top 90 in PFSN’s NFL WR Impact Metric, and all told, no receiver on the team had more than 400 receiving yards all season. That’s how horrid their passing attack was this year.
The Jets are fourth in the NFL with over $83 million in cap space this offseason, and that number could increase to $10 million if they release Justin Fields with a post-June 1 designation. They could use some of that money to boost their offense, and Evans could step in as a solid WR2 to get their offense back in the right direction.
Tennessee Titans
With over $104 million in cap space this offseason, the Tennessee Titans have the most spending capital in the NFL in free agency. They’re similar to the Jets in that they had a bad season with a horrid offensive performance. Unlike New York, though, they’ve already found their young QB of the future in Cam Ward and need to build around him.
The Titans have the likes of Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike on their roster, which gives them good long-term promise. However, Evans would likely step in as their WR1 out of the gate and give Ward an experienced, big-bodied weapon to throw to. Plus, it would fit the trend of older star receivers finishing their careers out in Tennessee.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers have their WR1 already in DK Metcalf, but the rest of their offense remains a work in progress. They had to rely heavily on running backs and tight ends for receiving production, as no other receiver reached over 400 receiving yards in 2025.
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Having two big receivers in Metcalf and Evans might seem like overkill, but I’d like to see how a secondary could stop both of those gigantic receivers on the perimeter at the same time. That duo would make life easier for Mike McCarthy in his first year as Pittsburgh’s head coach.
Denver Broncos
Like the Steelers, the Denver Broncos are a playoff team with a big-bodied WR1: Courtland Sutton. However, the latter are closer to being a Super Bowl-caliber team, seeing as though they made it all the way to the AFC Championship Game before falling short this postseason.
Troy Franklin looks the part of a good complementary weapon for Sutton, but the Broncos could use a little more firepower on offense to get them over the hump. With nearly $29 million in cap space, Denver has enough wiggle room to make a move work if it so chooses.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Ultimately, there’s a reason Evans has stayed on the Buccaneers for as long as he has. He’s consistently been productive for the franchise, making him one of their biggest stars in recent memory. His numbers were down by his standards even when he was healthy, but he still averaged a solid pace of 823 receiving yards over a 17-game pace.
Tampa Bay has some intriguing youth at receiver, but their room is still pretty unproven. Jalen McMillan played in just four games due to injury, and Chris Godwin is getting older and more banged up. Evans wouldn’t be a long-term option for the Buccaneers, but he could return on a one-year deal as a stopgap starter.
Key Dates in 2026 NFL Free Agency
The legal tampering period runs for 52 hours, opening Monday, March 9, at noon ET and closing at 3:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 11, just minutes before free agency officially begins.
During that window, teams can negotiate with the certified agents of players set to become unrestricted free agents. Verbal agreements can be reached and reported, but nothing is official yet.
For the first time, teams can recruit up to five players and speak with each for up to 1 hour via video or phone, rather than routing all contact through agents. The player’s agent must be present on every call. If a team wants to meet a player in person or have him visit a facility, that still must wait until free agency is officially underway.
Free agency officially opens at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 11, when the NFL’s new league year begins. That’s when contracts become official, not when they’re reported. The trading period also opens at that moment, allowing previously agreed-upon deals to be completed.
All teams must be cap-compliant by the 4 p.m. Wednesday deadline. The 2026 salary cap is set at $301.2 million, a $22 million increase from 2025.
Most of the market’s top players will have agreed to terms well before Wednesday afternoon. The tampering window exists to give that process structure. What’s new this year is that players themselves, not just their agents, can now hear directly from the teams pursuing them.
