The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made it official with receiver Mike Evans, announcing the receiver has signed a new two-year deal to remain with the franchise.
With Evans re-signed and safety Antoine Winfield franchise-tagged, the Bucs have locked up two central leaders from their team for next season. The question now is whether they’ll also be able to bring back Mayfield, who enjoyed a career year in his first season in Tampa, setting career highs in touchdowns (28) and passing yards (4,044) while leading the Buccaneers to a division title.
Evans is hopeful the QB will return.
Mike Evans Hopes Baker Mayfield Returns to Bucs
After 10 seasons in Tampa, Fla., it looked like Evans may test the waters of free agency next week, but he said his wife, Ashli, ultimately convinced him they should stay.
“I don’t want to say I was waiting for my wife to speak up, but … it just hit her,” Evans said. “She said, ‘Maybe we should stay in Tampa.’ I was like, ‘I want to be in Tampa.’ They offered me great money. I just wanted to see everything as a whole. ‘Are we going to get Baker back?’ Things like that. I know I can play with whoever’s at quarterback. I hope it’s Baker, but if not, I can make it work.”
Evans said he has a strong connection with Mayfield and hopes that the team can bring him back.
“I’ve played with many quarterbacks throughout my career … me and Baker, we have a really good connection,” Evans said. “I think he’s an elite quarterback. Me and Baker, we played one season together, and I feel like we can build on what we did last year, so hopefully we can get him back, he’s a hell of a player. They’re gonna handle their process, and I trust Jason [Licht, the Buccaneers’ GM] and the front office no matter what happens.”
Like Evans, Mayfield has expressed a genuine desire to stay in Tampa, with talks continuing this weekend ahead of Monday’s window when free agents can begin talking to other teams.
“I just want what’s best for him,” Evans said. “I think what’s best for him would be to play with me and Chris [Godwin], but there’s a lot of great receivers in this league that could use his services as well. … I’m extremely confident. I’m not 100%, but he played really great for us last year. The city took him in, the players loved him. Hopefully, we get him back, but he should do what’s best for him.”
After the Buccaneers’ Divisional Round playoff loss to the Detroit Lions last season, Mayfield was asked if he would like to stay in Tampa.
“It would mean a lot to me,” he told reporters. “I would love that.”
He enjoyed what was arguably the best season of his NFL career with the Buccaneers, posting career-best marks in completion percentage (64.3%), passing yards (4,044), and passing touchdowns (28) while only throwing 10 interceptions.
He also complimented Evans and expressed a desire to keep playing with him.
“He makes my life easy,” Mayfield said of Evans. “He did all year. He did it today, over and over. To get everybody back, there have to be sacrifices made. This team’s about winning. We have a group of guys who are all about that. If I’m back, I want Mike back.”
KEEP READING: 2024 NFL Top 100 Free Agent Rankings
With Evans officially back, it will be interesting to see what the Bucs decide to do moving forward.
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