“No Need For Panic”
February 9th, 2024
Will Mike Evans re-sign with the Bucs for his 11th season in Tampa?
One of his teammates weighed in this week.
Running back Rachaad White loves talking to media and he’s the kind of guy who’s more likely than others to leak what he knows, aka talk too much for some people’s liking.
So what about potential free agent Evans, Rachaad?
“I do believe he want to stay,” White said. “I’m not giving up no information. Do I talk to Mike? He’s my guy, like a big brother to me, for sure. But at the end of the day, I think we’ll be straight, though. No need for panic. No need for panic, you know.”
It sounds to Joe like Bucs players believe Evans will be back because Evans has told his teammates that he wants to return. If that’s the case, then Joe has no doubt that Team Glazer will sign off on a very fair offer for Evans’ services over the next three years or more.
February 9th, 2024 at 12:40 pm
Here’s to hoping ME13 stays in Tampa. But that Houston connection and that team they are building down there..well – I break out in hives when I think about it.
February 9th, 2024 at 12:44 pm
I think everybody from the Glazers on down want to resign all 5…ME, Baker, LVD,Winfield and Wirfs.
It’s time for JL to work his magic…IF he can. I do not how much will have to be kicked down the road but I trust JL and the guys to determine that. That’s why THEY get the big bucks instead of us. If they can’t get them all back it won’t be because of lack of desire or the Glazers it’ll be due to the NFL salary cap.
February 9th, 2024 at 12:46 pm
3 YEARS …. YES!!!!!
Mike would likely finish his third seasons …
#4 – All Time Yards (1-Rice, 2-Fitz, 3-Owens, 4-Evans, 5-Moss)
#4 – Rec TD (1-Rice, 2-Moss, 3-Owens, 4-Evans, 5-Carter)
#1 – Most Consecutive 1K Seasons to Start Career (13)
#1 – Most Consecutive 1K Seasons (13, Rice-11)
#2 – Most 1K Seasons (1-Rice-14)
That would be a lot of fun to be part of as a Bucs fan. Mike would be 33.
February 9th, 2024 at 1:03 pm
4 years 100 million 80 guaranteed the first 3.
February 9th, 2024 at 1:04 pm
Baker 3yr/100 million call it a day.
Mike makes 25 Baker makes 32 a year and then tag AWJ.
February 9th, 2024 at 1:07 pm
Sounds like there is reason to panic.
February 9th, 2024 at 1:07 pm
Translation….. he will take less money to stay.
good news for all the ME mancrushes on here.
I think Mike should go get that paper!!
February 9th, 2024 at 1:13 pm
3 years – $70M ($23.3M per average) – $50M Guaranteed
That sounds like a crazy amount to be paying a 31 year old (when the season starts) WR. But unfortunately – that is the going rate for high end NFL WRs.
Evans seems to have really embraced and benefited from TB12’s training and diet and longevity methods…. I could easily see him playing another 4 or 5 years and feel sure that his play will be deserving of high end $ for at least the next 2-3…..
ME13 balled out big time in his contract year after being denied a fair extension last off season. So now its time to PAY UP.
There are almost certainly other teams who would be willing to surpass those dollars.
But Mike wants to stay and play with Baker and hopefully finish his career with the team that drafted him #7 overall. And of course Jason Licht does not want to see his very 1st and best ever draft pick – the best offensive player in Buccaneers history no less – leave and play for another team because the $ couldn’t get worked out….
One way or another – I can pretty much guarantee that Evans will be a Buccaneer in 2024 and for life. Exactly as it should be!
February 9th, 2024 at 1:20 pm
My highlight reel of ME if BIG drops in important games that shifted the momentum of the game. Even our final game.
“That sounds like a crazy amount to be paying a 31 year old WR”
THATS BECAUSE IT IS!!!…..and that was IF he was elite.
February 9th, 2024 at 1:23 pm
GTFOOH BOSS.
If you don’t have at least a small “mancrush” on Mike Evans and a large amount of appreciation for the way 13 plays the game of football – then you are a sorry excuse of a Bucs fan….
February 9th, 2024 at 1:25 pm
I’m with SlyPirate on the career stats for Mike. I sincerely think that Mike’s best chance to get into the HOF is to stay here with Baker. Coen wants to make Mike the #1 target, Baker and Mike have some timing built up, and the system will be very similar to last year. As long as Licht pays Mike a good number, Mike will stay to keep his career stats going up.
February 9th, 2024 at 1:26 pm
I agree with Pickgrin…it’ll work out just fine and Evans goes nowhere but Tampa.
February 9th, 2024 at 1:39 pm
Licht will work everything out. We know he wants Evans back so I have no doubt he already has the plan figured out. It will all start coming together in the next 2 weeks.
February 9th, 2024 at 1:48 pm
Pickgrin Says:
“3 years – $70M ($23.3M per average) – $50M Guaranteed
That sounds like a crazy amount to be paying a 31 year old (when the season starts) WR. But unfortunately – that is the going rate for high end NFL WRs.”
The market is the market. $25M annual for two years guaranteed sounds right. The Cap goes up, the money for the stars go up, the team gambled and now has to pay a little more. Or rebuild with a new WR1. The dude did sorta lead the league in TD receptions. And his yards the last 4 years have increased each year (1006, 1035, 1124, 1255). I think he wants a deep playoff run and two more 1000 yard season in his cap. He can probably get that in Houston too where Stroud could blow up with two WR1. So pay the man. And the guy feeding him the rock.
Get younger on Defense. Next year and in two years, gonna have to re-invest on defense when Vea and Britt have their turn. And Godwin is due a turn.
Hoping in 2 years we’ll draft another WR1/WR2 or one of the young ones we have now will improve to that spot.
February 9th, 2024 at 2:02 pm
Hopefully the Chiefs don’t go hard after Mike, THAT might give him pause
February 9th, 2024 at 2:14 pm
Of course the Bucs will offer a “ very fair offer “
This is ME’s last contact, he has bent over backwards in his previous contracts and during them reworking for the teams overall best interest. The compound investment returns of the difference between the Bucs offer and the highest bidder needs to be considered by Mike as well as the chance to get another Super Bowl ring and the opportunity to catch a TD in the Super Bowl
February 9th, 2024 at 2:28 pm
Rachaad White … “I’m not giving up no information. Do I talk to Mike? He’s my guy, like a big brother to me, for sure. But at the end of the day, I think we’ll be straight, though. No need for panic.’
Note to Rachaad: You need to learn to be quiet. When you start off an answer with ‘I’m not giving up no information’ and finish with (paraphrased) ‘MIke and I are real close & I’m sure that he’s staying’ then guess what … YOU JUST GAVE UP INFORMATION. This is the media you’re talking to, not kids on the playground.
The Bucs had all last year to ‘git er done’. They couldn’t pull it off & now Mike is a free agent. He obviously held the line, and wasn’t willing to ‘do cheap’. I don’t blame him one bit. His Market Value is now $23.8 mil and he’s almost surely looking for at least a 3-year (more likely a 4-5 year) contract. I have no doubt he’d love to end his career as a Buc, but in the final analysis the NFL is a BUSINESS, and future HOFers don’t ‘do cheap’.
Bucs right now have 33 players on our current roster who logged snaps last year & stand a good chance of making the final 53-man roster this year. We currently have $37.6 mil in 2024 salary CAP space according to Spotrac (Over-the-Cap lists it as $36.9 mil CAP space). We could probably increase that by $13 mil by releasing Russell Gage and Anthony Nelson. Plus restructure Godwin & Vea to free up another $25 mil or thereabouts (risky but doable). Ink Wirfs to a long-term contract & backload it & we could save another $8 mil or so.
That’d bring us up to about $83 mil salary CAP available for 2024. With that amount we’d have to ‘do deals’ for 20 more players to fill out our 53-man roster. Franchise tagging any player means that we have to eat that whole tag amount in 2024 (BAD idea). Doing more 1-year deals also means that we either eat the whole amount in 2024 OR we build in VOID YEARS and kick the can even further down the street in 2025 & beyond (Bucs ALREADY have about $63 mil in VOID YEAR costs on the books for 2025, and that’ll INCREASE significantly the more 2024 contracts we restructure). Any BIG deals that we do this year (Evans, Mayfield, Winfield, etc) will require that we backload them (pay less currently than what we should).
Stay hopeful, but realize that the Fram filter commercial of years ago had it right … ‘Pay me now or pay me later’.
February 9th, 2024 at 2:52 pm
Hope so Joe. I’d never regret play a guy what he is worth. It is the overpaid underperforming that bother me.
February 9th, 2024 at 3:35 pm
Although Baker Mayfield hedged a bit in his interview with Dan Patrick, it seems like he’d be willing to sacrifice to get Mike back.
GOT to get Mike as a Buc for LIFE!
Great player & even better HUMAN!
February 9th, 2024 at 6:35 pm
If he goes just use our first pick on the receiver from FSU. Don’t know why everyone’s freaking out about losing him.
February 9th, 2024 at 7:26 pm
The Bucs should have no problem at all re-signing every single one of their free agents as well as a couple players who were with other teams. We have the cap room in upcoming seasons to spread things out and Licht is a master at it.
It’s ridiculous that so many people here think the Bucs are in an either/or situation with any of the free agents that the Bucs actually want to keep. If players don’t re-sign, it’s because they wanted to play somewhere else – not because the Bucs couldn’t afford them.
February 9th, 2024 at 7:32 pm
JimBobBucs wrote: “Coen wants to make Mike the #1 target”
Not entirely sure that is the case, although he may very well want to make him the #1 target for TDs.
From what I have read, it seems to me that Godwin is his type of guy for “most targets” since he compares him to Cooper Kupp.
February 9th, 2024 at 7:56 pm
This assumes that the 1st round receiver from FSU will be good.
1st round receivers:
2015 Amari Cooper, Kevin White, DeVante Parker, Nelson Agholor, Breshad Perriman, Phillip Dorsett
2016 Corey Coleman, Will Fuller, Josh Doctson, Laquon Treadwell
2017 Corey Davis, Mike Williams, John Ross
2018 DJ Moore, Calvin Ridley
So, you get my point about whether the receiver will be close to playing at Evans level or even starter level is pretty questionable.
February 9th, 2024 at 9:50 pm
Evans level? Who was at Evans level? Terrell Owens Larry Fitzgerald? NOBODY is on Jerry Rices level. Theres no one at Evans level currently in terms of consistent production.
February 9th, 2024 at 11:27 pm
Keep Mike Evans here until he has every single league record that he can possibly achieve.
February 10th, 2024 at 1:02 am
@1sparky – That is NOT the objective. In fact, IMHO it is detrimental to the team winning. Who gives a flying F about records. We care about W’s. Too many fans care more about Mike’s streak and records than out team record.
All of you can haul arse outta here. SMDH.
BUCS>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>evan’s records
February 10th, 2024 at 1:09 am
He’ll re-sign. I’m not at all worried about Mike.
If Lavante David decides not to retire, he will sign a one-year deal to stay. I suspect he’ll be one year deals from here on out and self evaluate each year.
Devin White will likely test the market. His expectations are not realistic…and if heholds out too long, the team ight draft his replacement. Or sign someone cheaper and just as good.
Baker Mayfield will be the big hit…I believe he is emotionally connected to the team, and he probably feelshe owes them first r pla ing faith in him. While I am not 100% convinced he can be great consistently, I do think he is good enough to take a small chance on. Just protect the team, just in case things go wrong with him.
February 10th, 2024 at 7:27 am
D.R.
If I didn’t know you used to be a jet jockey I would think you’re a CPA.
My mother, with a 10th grade education always wanted to be a CPA. She worked hard and at least made it to bookeeper.
I OTOH hate trying to find pennies and dollars in a balance sheet to make it all balance.
I appreciate you doing the hard stuff.
February 10th, 2024 at 10:17 am
StPete … Wait a minute. Mama was a bookkeeper and daddy was a bookie. Sounds like a partnership made in heaven.