Did Losing Run Off Mike Evans?
July 10th, 2026
Speculation on exit.
Building an NFL team isn’t much different from taking your Ford Mustang to the repair shop.
If there is an issue that is ignored, the car will never run at top form.
And so the Bucs find themselves in the repair shop trying to find a solution, as they should. Why did Mike Evans leave?
It seems Frank Schwab of Yahoo! senses that if Bucs coach Todd Bowles was not the issue, then the Bucs losing may have been.
The flop was so bad that there was speculation Mike Evans, one of the greatest and most popular players in franchise history, left in free agency for the 49ers because of head coach Todd Bowles, who was retained despite Tampa Bay blowing one of the worst divisions in NFL history. General manager Jason Licht said that had “zero to do with” Evans leaving.
Well, in the past two seasons, Evans made it abundantly clear on several occasions he had been through losing seasons with the Bucs. Too many. And he had zero inclination to be part of losing again.
So last year when Evans recovered from his broken clavicle after being tackled in Detroit, Evans totally balled out and had 132 yards receiving in his return against Atlanta — and yet the Bucs lost. Choked in fact. You know, third-and-28?
Once Evans returned to the active roster, the Bucs finished the season 1-3. Joe is confident other factors motivated Evans to take a paycut and pay much more in state taxes to go play for San Francisco, but losing three of the final four games after he returned very likely helped push him out the door.
And the constant revolving door at coordinator each winter likely didn’t help.
July 10th, 2026 at 4:18 am
The Bucs & others can try to spin it however they want, but I’d wager a very large sum that Mike would still be here if the Glazers had made the right call at HC either of the last 2 years. Players aren’t blind… Mike obviously saw Coen revitalize Jax in spite of their overall talent level, while here in Tampa he saw his team being out-coached on an almost weekly basis season after season lately, and players taking plays off with zero accountability. I can totally get not wanting to wind down your career playing in that atmosphere, and with a FO and ownership that have forgotten what pushing for a championship looks like. I think the general sense of the acceptance of mediocrity, along with everything else taken as a whole, likely had more to do with it than simply just the the losing.
July 10th, 2026 at 4:31 am
No. It didn’t. Otherwise why would he go to a team that just lost to the Bucs? He went to a team where he can be ‘the guy’ and not have to compete with other WR’s for the ball. He only really has a TE and RB to compete with for the ball there. He will see a lot more volume. Now, whether he can get open and stay healthy is another story altogether…
July 10th, 2026 at 4:43 am
The word FORD fits the Bucs to a tee! When one looks at the HC/DC, it gives this advice Fix Or Repair Daily. The FIX starts at the top and failing to change mechanics (coach) will always lead to less performance of your vehicle (team)!
July 10th, 2026 at 4:48 am
Good luck, Mike. Bucs got plenty of depth at WR but Mike’s a Bucs WR legend.
July 10th, 2026 at 5:01 am
Who cares, he’s gone. There wasn’t one reason he left, it was all of the above. Men like to wander. I’m excited to see what his replacement Hurst can do, and all the other young receivers we have. I’ll take the young hammys, over the old hammys, thank you.
July 10th, 2026 at 5:13 am
Joe, get over it. Evans abandoned the Pirate Ship. I could care less.
July 10th, 2026 at 5:44 am
Not a bad analogy Joe but I would take it one step further. This Mustang is in the shop and up on a lift all week being tweaked in all sorts of different ways to find that edge for race day. This is not a daily driver but a highly tuned vehicle designed to perform specifically for three hours on any given day. They can be high strung and quite finicky but man, when they work… beautiful.
July 10th, 2026 at 6:00 am
O PLEASE!
All of the “Structure and Discipline” issues, which is at THE VERY HEART OF OUR PROBLEMS is due to TWO GUYS and absentee parenting of the ownership!
First off 1A… (and though I see more good than Bad from him) Jason Licht has been Selling “MAGIC LYING BEANS!”! I DO NOT TRUST WHAT HE HAS TO SAY ON THE MATTER.
Secondly 1B… Todd “Bozo the Fat Clown” Bowles is a POOR EXCUSE for a head coach/ DC! Perhaps one or the other of which I’m about to call out as bs!
ANY… And I mean ANY “Sucessful” coach or Leader in Any zhape and form, “KNOWS” that there MUST BE Discipline and Structure!
From a baby until the very day you pass, ALL HUMANS are AWARE that “IT” All Falls Apart, (No Matter What “IT” Is) AND the FACT REMAINS that the clown car captain is a “New Age” kinda guy since he expects none, provides none, and to this DAY, Can Not figure out why the players aren’t figuring it out via some mysterious type of osmosis! In other words, THE MAN DOESN’T NATURALLY PROVIDE DISCIPLINE AND STRUCTURE FOR TEAM MEMBERS TO FOLLOW AS A GUIDELINE….. Nor does he effectively TEACH the craft! Bowles style is, You just kinda loosely play off the ball “where ever”, INSTEAD OF… “This IS where you line up”! (as an example)
The Truth Is, I’m SUPER FAMILIAR with this type of new age crap! My own brother and his wife have a business (a 28 year Established business, that “they DIDN’T” establish, as they have run it into the ground and the doors are about to shut FOREVER!). A “necessity” type of business that Just Shouldn’t Fail! But JUST LIKE BOZO, their lack of structure and discipline, an organized “everybody on the same page” type of Well Established thinking and execution, is simply GONE with their flaky type of thinking. IT’S NOT ONLY SAD! IT’S SO VERY PATHETIC!
And I see THE VERY SAME type of garbage from the Clown Car driver!
And THAT IS “WHY” I KNOW, Bozo HAS TO GO! Or we will NEVER LEAVE the “Den of the Depressed”….! It’s just GROSS!
In my mind…. There is ABSOLUTELY NO WONDER WHY Mike Evans left. It’s CRYSTAL CLEAR…
July 10th, 2026 at 6:01 am
“Did losing run off Mike Evans?” Right, guys. That’s what I want to know. And it’s beginning to sound to me like you Joes know more than me about what really happened. I was about ready to write it off to a stout mid life crisis of some sort. But not anymore. There is something more sinister going on, huh? And journalistic integrity is preventing us from being informed? I guess I don’t know the rules for reporters covering for their sources, but that’s bullshlt.
July 10th, 2026 at 6:07 am
@FrontFour: What you mean to say is that you COULDN’T care less.
When you say that you could care less, you are stating that you already care a certain amount, and that you have the ability to “care less”.
July 10th, 2026 at 6:08 am
One thing that is different for Evans is his1000 yards receiving streak was over. I think it was part of his decision. At least if Bucs were losing the incentive to play for Mike to break Jerry’s record was still there until last year. Everyone wanted to be apart of that historical moment. Things morphed into a meltdown loaf and there’s no denying Evans made QBs look good.
July 10th, 2026 at 6:32 am
If not wanting to be on a losing team was his motivation, why the heck didn’t he leave after 2022? That Brady-led Bucs team was 8-9, with no more Brady in 2023, no clear answer at QB and a team expected to be horrible, THAT would have been the time to abandon ship if you didn’t want to be part of a losing team.
Sorry, not buying it. I’ll continue to believe that he left because there is too much competition for receptions with the Bucs deep WR room and Evans wants more 1,000 yard seasons to pad his Hall of Fame chances. The 49ers don’t have nearly as much competition at the wide receiver spot.
July 10th, 2026 at 7:01 am
He’s GONE. He wanted to leave. Can we please stop with the Mike Evans stuff. It’s getting older than Pelosi.
July 10th, 2026 at 7:04 am
He sees Bowles and Baker everyday and decided to take a pay cut and pay more taxes to get away from both of them. It makes no sense to say he had faith in those two and left anyway. He got tired of the inaccurate passes and turnovers. He grew weary of the bad gametime decisions and horrible defense. He looked at the roster and said SF has a better one. More importantly they have a better QB and HC.
July 10th, 2026 at 7:07 am
Maybe Mike is secretly gay and likes the LGBTQ culture of San Francisco. A grown man into Harry Potter? Makes perfect sense. 🧑🤝🧑
July 10th, 2026 at 7:20 am
Had two Mustangs, now drive a Benz convertible………right now the Bucs are a Ford, Super Bowl contenders are Lexus and Benz quality.
July 10th, 2026 at 7:25 am
History will judge the Bucs harshly in the Evans departure story , but only when that story is fully told, and it will be.
July 10th, 2026 at 7:31 am
Mike recorded a tackle in his last game with us, and said “that’s not my job” lol
July 10th, 2026 at 7:42 am
I agree we need to stop the Evans whining and the Bucs bashing. It’s been very negative to read. So he’s gone, maybe in his mind he has something to prove to himself and someone. He’s not going to get it with a stacked WR room that’s for sure, and quite possibly he’s healed from his injuries but who cares really? It’s getting old indeed.
July 10th, 2026 at 7:42 am
Mustangs are now electric.
July 10th, 2026 at 7:44 am
We need to have an intervention
July 10th, 2026 at 7:55 am
@bee
BINGO!!!!!
folks fail to mention what happened that led up to 3rd&28…up 14pts and another 4th quarter INT by baker intended for mike…
the words that came out of Mike’s mouth were, he wanted to play for a contender with a good QB…
GO BUCS!!!!
July 10th, 2026 at 8:13 am
813bucboi. Yeah, you’re right. Those were the words that came out of his a$$. I mean mouth. Not much difference. Facts- Shep far out produced Mike in 2025. Facts- Mike showed up his head coach and his own teammates with his 3rd and 28 charade. After playing a single game after missing half the season. We’re so far ahead of where we were in the wide receiver department than we were last year it’s not even close. The Niners suck and I hope we get the opportunity to kick their a$$ this year. Just like we did last year. We damn sure didn’t need Mike to pull that off, did we?
July 10th, 2026 at 8:13 am
Under Todd Blows this defense has consistently given up lots of yards, points and allowed nearly any QB with a pulse to put up career numbers.
By keeping Todd who consistently is in charge of the weakest side of the ball the Bucs told the fans, players, media, and league that they are okay with being mediocre. Hall of Fame level players are not okay with mediocre
San Fran has
-An elite Offensive Play Caller, something Mike has never had
-A legacy franchise, with a history of success and a rabid fan base that frequently takes over opposing stadiums. Something this passive, small fanbase can never do
-A proactive GM that has a win now mindset
-An elite pass rusher that won’t allow bad QB’s to torch them weekly
As a player ask yourself do you want to spend your last 2 or 3 years with a bottom 10 headcoach/defensive play caller or do you want a stable situation with a headcoach who is not going anywhere?
July 10th, 2026 at 8:14 am
Losing “leadership “ is the absolute worst feeling
Listening to Todd Bowels must have been torturous
July 10th, 2026 at 8:16 am
Obvious One,
You lost me when you dragged your brother and his wife into a football argument. Their business has nothing to do with the Buccaneers or Todd Bowles.
If your case against Bowles is as strong as you claim, it should stand on football facts—not family stories, assumptions about Mike Evans, or analogies that prove nothing.
We’ll find out soon enough. If Bowles fails this season, he’ll be gone. Until then, I’ll stick to what happens on the field instead of attacking people who aren’t even part of the conversation.
July 10th, 2026 at 8:17 am
Obvious One,
You lost me when you dragged your brother and his wife into a football argument. Their business has nothing to do with the Buccaneers or Todd Bowles.
If your case against Bowles is as strong as you claim, it should stand on football facts—not family stories, assumptions about Mike Evans, or analogies that prove nothing.
We’ll find out soon enough. If Bowles fails this season, he’ll be gone. Until then, I’ll stick to what happens on the field instead of attacking people who aren’t even part of the conversation.
July 10th, 2026 at 8:24 am
UGH! Thats all I have to say ….
July 10th, 2026 at 8:43 am
Did Mike Evans leave….when did that happen? Why wasn’t I informed?
July 10th, 2026 at 8:59 am
It wasn’t just losing games that chased Evans away, it was the HC\DC that has a losing mentality.
Bowles defense is the worst in the NFL. It cannot be counted on for positive results.
The midget QB that can’t complete a pass in the 4th quarter down the stretch is also a huge factor.
Once Mike got a taste for winning with Brady, he wasn’t going to settle for anything less.
Bowles+Baker+Licht= Failure
Mike knows. He’s a winner and decided to go play with winners.
July 10th, 2026 at 9:07 am
It’s a JoeBucsFans life!!!!!
As Brooks used to say, “You got to love this!”
When is kick off? 😃
July 10th, 2026 at 9:09 am
I like the repair shop analogy! Problem is we need to use the V-12 Jaguar instead of a Ford Mustang. Rebuilding an NFL team takes years to get to the 11, 12, 13 win team. The 49ers were rebuilding through the 2015-2020 seasons and they now have an extremely powerful team. Bucs have been rebuilding 2023, 2024, 2025. Still a couple years to go, but we’ve experienced some decent success during this time. Evans sees a SB ready team vs. a team that needs more time. Pretty simple if you ask me!
July 10th, 2026 at 9:33 am
This is the least puzzling mystery of all time, about as easy as filling in the letter for the word meaning feline, “C _ T”
Of course the losing caused him to leave, once the cause of the losing was retained. And losing that 3rd and 28 game was the final straw. Baker’s 4th quarter pick was the sealant. Losing to the Dolphins was the point of no return.
But we hasn Tdod. He won a playoff game as Twocoach when the other team failed to show up. Yippee.
July 10th, 2026 at 9:38 am
“We’re so far ahead of where we were in the wide receiver department than we were last year it’s not even close.”
We swap out the best offensive weapon we’ve ever had for a 3rd round draft pick from Georgia State and our WR room ‘is now so much better it’s not even close’?
One of the all time dumb takes in this site.
July 10th, 2026 at 10:30 am
F that traitor.
July 10th, 2026 at 10:38 am
3rd and 28 Bowles worst coach considered a genius.
July 10th, 2026 at 10:40 am
There is more to this than any of us know. I have an opinion but that is all it is. Mike has too much class to talk out of school. MY guess is we may never know the truth of his reasoning. Schwab would see this if he had bothered to do his homework.
Go Bucs!
July 10th, 2026 at 11:08 am
KS
lol…shep?…really?….c’mon man…
how many games did the 9ers win?…did they make the playoffs despite injuries and playing in the toughest division in the NFL?…ok, carry on lol
you still havent gone over bakers MIA game lol….2INTs 2 fumbles 1 lost fumble against an tanking Dolphins team with a 7th round QB…that is what ran mike off!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
July 10th, 2026 at 11:08 am
Jason Licht is not going to say “yeah it was because of our head coach”, regardless of if it was or wasn’t. So that’s irrelevant.
Evans was gone either way. If we had hired a new coach it’s not starting over with as many good pieces as we have but it’s certainly not good team stability. And keeping Bowles? Well he showed us what he thinks of that.
He wanted to go to an elite program capable of winning a SB any year because the roster is good, the HC is elite with an elite program, and a good qb. He checked every single one of those boxes with SF. We do not check all of those boxes unfortunately.
The bad part for Mike is that the roster in SF is aging.
July 10th, 2026 at 11:10 am
ME lost trust in Bowles. He didn’t make this decision just off the 3rd and 28 moment. It had been brewing for some time and it was just the straw that broke the camels back. You don’t quit a job because your boss makes one bad decision. You quit because your boss makes lots of bad decisions consistently. This has been Bowles MO since he became HC and a trend that has continued since he was a HC with the Jets. This was a build up of frustration over Bowles which culminated in his departure to SF.
July 10th, 2026 at 11:39 am
There was much talk of the mindset and culture that TB12 brought to the bucs.
now the talk is of loafgate, an OC who had no business being one, a HC who clearly has let “things” go on the team and off the field, including having the balls to hire his son with no regard to how it looks, a GM who wants to play games with core vets, lost the greatest receiver in bucs history and a feckless ownership group who is more concerned with who knows what. renovations and end zone banners. soon zyon and his blankey will be having nap time between defensive sets and nobody will say boo.
great “culture”. sponsored by gillette.
July 10th, 2026 at 11:39 am
The 49ers have been rebuilding for years. Last SB they won was 1995. They have gone back to the SB and lost with Purdy. But of course because they lost it’s not his loss but the teams loss. If it was Baker it would be his loss not the teams. Yes we will hear the same Baker can’t get them there . Fine Purdy can get them to the SB but can’t win it
If Evans believes he will be that final piece more power to him. Hamstrings and all.
July 10th, 2026 at 11:42 am
Bowles and Licht just won a Super Bowl like 5 years ago!
How quickly we forget…
July 10th, 2026 at 11:44 am
And Baker is certainly not holding us back from winning another one. All we need to do is protect him and we will win lots of games. And we have the Offensive Line to do exactly that!
July 10th, 2026 at 11:51 am
ME had horrible injuries last year. Imagine missing several weeks due to broken collarbone, busting your ass in recovery, coming back late in the season hoping to get to the playoffs, and running into the “3rd and 28” (which will live on in Bucs’ lore) game. That’s why he left. It’s so obvious. One should not have to have read it in the papers to know that.
July 10th, 2026 at 11:57 am
Cherchez la femme! When a family moves, the wife and mother has a lot to say about it. And rightfully so. Although the only authorized explanation is “family reasons.” no one has spoken to Mrs. Evans. She has a right to her privacy, so I’m not advocating that anyone should harass her about this. Nevertheless, very few people seem to consider that being a football player does not exempt a man from the normal dynamics of life, including family life.
July 10th, 2026 at 11:59 am
Losing … No
Losers … Yes
Bowles is a loser. Baker is a loser.
YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER …
Evans has played with Winston, TB12, and Baker. He knows what an entertainer looks like vs a winner. Baker = Winston 2.0.
July 10th, 2026 at 12:00 pm
@Allthecrybabies
Sentiment doesn’t win games, beating San Francisco does. This isn’t a memorial service, ME chose San Francisco. I’m rooting for the logo on the helmet, not the name on the back. Time to move on…
🪦
July 10th, 2026 at 12:21 pm
“Losing” or losers (Bowles/Baker)? Potato, pototo.
July 10th, 2026 at 12:22 pm
Sly, I didn’t see your comment. Great minds think alike. Haha
July 10th, 2026 at 1:26 pm
All these formulas it’s no wonder Joe keeps pushing out more Evans stuff.
July 10th, 2026 at 2:41 pm
The photo on this article is exactly what used to drive me crazy about Mike Evans. It doesn’t look like there’s anyone around yet he looks like he’s falling to the ground to catch a pass unnecessarily. Mike Evans is a big boy and if he caught the ball in stride and RAN IT he would have had hundreds more yards every season. A quick stiff arm and he’d blast into the end zone. Instead, he surrendered almost all those YAC yards available even when he often didn’t need to do it- and rarely ever took advantage of his size and broke some tackles or stiff armed his way out of them! I don’t get it.
July 10th, 2026 at 2:57 pm
@StPeteMatt
It’s called Father Time. We all knew it was coming. Those “catch and fall” plays followed by 30–45 seconds just to get back up became the norm. Appreciate what he did, but that chapter is over. He’s the enemy now, and Father Time is still undefeated, not my problem anymore, ME is now the enemy. Whoever wants to conclude the fairytale ending with ME can just move to San Francisco.
🔥 LFG!
🏈 On to the next chapter!!
July 10th, 2026 at 3:00 pm
“Bowles is a loser. Baker is a loser.”
Says another whiney man on a keyboard from his lounge chair 🤣
Screw Mike and his stat line. We’ll see how things go this season. Hope we get a chance to bump SF from the playoffs !
July 10th, 2026 at 3:24 pm
Amen Simple T, Amen 🙏.
July 10th, 2026 at 4:08 pm
I readily believe that Evans does not like losing – who does?
But, I really do not think that is the whole story as to why Evans left Tampa.
Evans seems to be very goal oriented, and one of the goals he seems most concerned about is producing 1,000 yard every season.
To reach 1,000 yards in 17 games, Evans must average 59 yards per game.
With the addition of Egbuka and Tez, and without Godwin or McMillan on the field, in the first three games of 2025, before he was injured, Evans had games with 51 yards, 56 yards, and 33 yards – 140 yards total for and average of 46-2/3 yards per game. That was not looking like a 1,000 yard season.
Then, Evans missed three games with a hamstring injury.
Then, Evans played in the 7th game for zero yards when he was denied a monster reception on an egregious no call for pass interference so disruptive that his collar bone was broken as he went to the ground.
Then, Evans played the last four games with all of the receivers healthy. And, as a Joe recently posted, the Bucs averaged an NFL leading 6.4 yards per pass attempt when Evans, Godwin and McMillan were on the field.
But, the Ghost of Seasons Yet to Come was in Evans’ numbers for those last four games.
In the first, Evans went wild against Atlanta with 132 yards – he was surely happy with that.
But, then, it was 31 yards against Carolina, 31 yards against Miami, and 34 yards against Carolina again.
So, 228 yards in 4 games for 57 yards per game.
Even with the 6.4 yards per attempt with Evans, Godwin, and McMillan on the field, with the addition of first round pick Egbuka and seventh round pick Tez to the mix, for the season, not counting the game where he suffered the broken collar bone and was credited with no yards, Evans produced 368 yards in 7 games for an average of under 53 yards per game.
With the decision to use their first round draft pick on Egbuka and their seventh round pick on Tez, and with Godwin and McMillan healthy, the numbers suggest that the prospects for Evans to produce 1,000 yard seasons in Tampa were significantly reduced by the 2025 draft.
Losing sucks, yes. But, losing AND having yards taken away by a first round draft pick when the team desperately needed help at ILB where the weakness added to the losing in both 2024 and 2025, that seems like the icing on the cake that made leaving Tampa a choice that Evans decided to make.
July 11th, 2026 at 8:01 am
Not sure why he picked the 49ers. They are old, injury prone and the 3rd best team in their division.
July 11th, 2026 at 8:26 am
Agreed, Chant. But both Seattle and the Rams especially are pretty darn set at WR right now. SF fits the profile where he gets to be ‘the guy.’
July 11th, 2026 at 9:16 am
You tool. What a stupid question. 328.
July 11th, 2026 at 4:32 pm
He left because of #6……..