Former QB Shaun King: Bucs Should Offer Mike Evans Team-Friendly Deal, Let Star WR Make Decision

The Buccaneers have the tenth-most cap space in the NFL, but they also have a lot of big-name free agents.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield, wide receiver Mike Evans, safety Antoine Winfield, linebacker Devin White and linebacker Lavonte David are all scheduled to hit the open market in March.

Evans capped a dominant decade-long run in Tampa Bay with a great 2023 season, but now the question becomes: Was it his last in a Bucs uniform?

Former Buccaneers quarterback Shaun King doesn’t think the team can offer him market value because of its salary cap limitations, so it’s basically on Evans to decide whether location and legacy will win out over a mega payday in free agency.

“I would put the ball in his court,” King said. “If I was (GM) Jason Licht, I would say, ‘Mike, we want you to be a lifetime Buc. Here is where we’re at.’ They don’t have to lie about their salary cap situation. I know it’s better than it was last year, but it’ll be just as bad as it was last year if they pay Mike Evans market value.

“So I’ll put the ball in Mike’s court: ‘We can’t pay you as much as you’re going to be able to get in free agency. We do want you to stay, but we’re going to let you make that decision.’ And if he’s willing to take less to be a lifelong Buc and play his whole career here, he’s going to be a Buc. If he wants to take one more swing at a huge contract, which he can probably get on the open market, then we part ways without any hard feelings. It’s one of those, ‘Mike, you make the decision’ kind of things.”

Evans is 30 years old but is coming off a season in which he caught 79 passes for 1,255 yards and 13 touchdowns. He had eight catches for 147 yards and a score in the team’s final game, a 31-23 loss to the Lions in the NFC Divisional Round.

While Evans is reaching an age of potential decline, King hasn’t seen any drop-off physically and expects there to be a wide range of suitors for his services.

“Shit, every team would love to have him,” King said. “I think there will be a team willing to throw a big bag at him. The Bears. If you can pair him with D.J. Moore, then you don’t have to draft Marvin Harrison. (Head coach Matt) Eberflus is going to be trying to win next year. He wants to keep his job. 

“There are a couple spots where he makes a lot of sense. Arizona is one of them. If you’re Arizona, if you can draft Marvin Harrison and sign Mike Evans – combined with the emergence of that young tight end (Trey McBride) – now you’ve got some legit pieces for Kyler (Murray) to work with.”

King also brings up teams like the Dolphins and Cowboys, bonafide contenders where Evans could slide in alongside a Tyreek Hill or CeeDee Lamb.

“For the first time in his career he can be a 2, but still be a 1B,” King said. 

Evans won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers in 2020 and King doesn’t think he will be ring-chasing like those who hit this stage of their careers without a championship.

“If he leaves Tampa, I think it’s for the most money, just because his legacy is pretty set,” King said. “I don’t think he’s one of those receivers whose legacy will be altered by having two Super Bowl rings instead of one. The fact that he got the one, and then you put in everything he’s done, and his legacy is cemented.”

Evans has said publicly he wants to return, but negotiations didn’t result in a contract extension this offseason. 

The Buccaneers won the NFC South this year and were one of the final eight teams left standing, but are still in a tricky spot because they only went 9-8 in the regular season, and fellow longtime star David is also a free agent at age-33.

“At certain positions, we have to make a decision,” King said. “Do we want them to retire as Bucs? Can we convince them to take a team-friendly deal? Your Lavonte Davids, your Mike Evanses. They probably still have a year or two left where they can play Super Bowl-caliber football, but the market is compensating guys with those accomplishments at a higher level than I’d be willing to.

“Or do I tell them, ‘Listen you guys are going to be in the Ring of Honor one day, but we’re about to start a rebuild, so we’re going to let you guys test the market and go try to win another ring. If I ran the Bucs, I’d be starting a semi-rebuild.’”