Jason Licht Talks Players Testing The Free Agent Market
February 25th, 2026
Bucs GM Jason Licht
So why do the Bucs seem content to let Mike Evans test the free agent market before re-signing him?
That’s not entirely clear, and the Bucs still have use of the franchise tag, if desired, for another week.
Publicly, Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht and Todd Bowles said yesterday that Evans has earned the right to make a decision on his future and approach it his way, even if that means being courted by other teams. The Bucs, they said, will honor Evans wishes while they work to put an offer on the table Evans will accept.
Speaking to Mike Florio on the PFT Live set at the NFL Scouting Combine yesterday, Licht was asked about whether at some point in negotiating with a pending free agent it’s best to enthusiastically tell the player to check out his options and hope they’ll come back to the Bucs and accept the team’s offer.
“They’re all individual cases, but in some cases, yeah. You want the player to feel good about the contract you give him,” Licht said.
“In some cases, you want to make sure that they knew that this is what their market was. And [with that approach you] tend to sometimes get a happier player, which usually ends up meaning in more prodcution and better play.”
Perhaps this is what’s happening with the Bucs and Mike Evans. Joe’s takeaway after talking directly with Licht and Bowles yesterday is that they were trying hard not to offend Evans and to not show any confidence in Evans’ return — no matter how confident in Evans’ return they may be. Anyway they can, Joe believes, the Bucs want to respect Evans’ interest in exploring all options.
As Licht told Florio, sometimes that results in a “happier” returning player.
Special Guest Todd Bowles! Plus Vibes & Reaction From The NFL Scouting Combine, Rival Coach Gives A Bucs Impression, And More
February 25th, 2026 at 11:19 am
It’s common sense business.
Mike is only leaving if he truly believes he is joining a SB team.
Otherwise, he is price checking. Chiefs, Bills, Chargers will pay me x amount of dollars … now what can you do Jason?
A report had the Chargers, 49ers and Patriots among the most interested suitors. Could be bologna but I said here a couple weeks ago that the Chargers would make the most sense to me if I am Mike.
49ers losing Saleh hurts them. Chargers also lost their DC but adding McDaniels with Harbaugh… that’s a potent coaching tandem. If Slater and Alt come back full strength and stay healthy, that’s a dangerous team.
Can never rule out Houston but it doesn’t make sense. Houston needs to invest in the OL and run game. They have enough at WR, adding Evans is a luxury they can’t afford from a team building standpoint.
February 25th, 2026 at 11:19 am
I wish the NFL in general would go with a lot more ‘incentive’ contracts. Give a player a nice base salary, but not these exorbitant mega-millions deals with so much guaranteed. Yet have some great incentives built in so that the player COULD make mega-millions IF his performance during that season is really exceptional.
As it stands right now, if a really high-value player gets hurt early in the season, he still makes his money AND the team has to foot the salary CAP hit. It’s a double whammy for the team because rarely can they afford to go out and ‘buy’ a comparable veteran to take his place.
February 25th, 2026 at 11:19 am
Players need to test the market to understand their value. The current team should respect that the player is valued by other teams and that no player should just bow-down and accept their offer.
February 25th, 2026 at 12:12 pm
Defense I hear ya.
The players hold all the cards.
Too much loafing after getting paid too.
Should make accounting easier too.
Here is the scale.
What have you done lately.
February 25th, 2026 at 12:26 pm
“Evans has earned the right to make a decision on his future and approach it his way, even if that means being courted by other teams.”
Joe got us some great scoops yesterday, and as for part of that – correct me if I’m wrong, but the Bucs haven’t given Evans an offer yet. At least they’re saying they haven’t. So what is Mike supposed to do? He doesn’t actually have any alternative but to explore elsewhere. I’m not naive enough to think they’re haven’t been “theoretical” terms discussed, but without a formal offer, he literally has no choice but to explore other suitors.
February 25th, 2026 at 12:33 pm
I like Mike as much as everyone else that posts here. However, our defense is atrocious and our WR room is still good without Mike. Egbuka has a year under his belt, Godwin will be almost 2 years removed from his injury, McMillan is back and Tez showed some promise.
We simply can’t break the bank for Mike, who’ll have issues with his hamstrings, no doubt. He’s not getting younger. If you can get him for a hometown discount, great.
February 25th, 2026 at 12:59 pm
Like The Mircales said, “You’ve got to shop around”
February 25th, 2026 at 1:05 pm
Maybe it’s time to move on for everybody.
February 25th, 2026 at 1:07 pm
You never want to negotiate too good a contract…the other side needs to get enough out of it to perform.
February 25th, 2026 at 1:50 pm
@ dungy. Negotiate from a position of strength. If the Bucs offered something now ME13 can just tell other teams do better and they will better the offer and Bucs look like low Ballers. If they wait to see what kind of offers he gets they can choose to make a similar offer, a lower offer or no offer all without offending ME13. There is NO benefit to offering him anything right now.