Mike Evans Pain Comes Before Bucs’ Opening Day
May 15th, 2026
No secret to NFL fans before yesterday’s schedule release was the teams that will open the season in Australia after the Seahawks host the Fighting Russinis in Seattle.
Those teams are the Rams and 49ers. They’ll clash on Thursday, Sept. 10, on Netflix, live from Melbourne, Australia, about 65 hours before Bucs opening day.
Starting at wide receiver for the 49ers, if he’s not nursing a hamstring injury, will be legendary receiver Mike Evans, the famous “Buc For Life.”
Ironically, Evans is not a fan of flying and he’s open about not being a fan of long flights. So Joe wonders what Evans will be thinking about on his 16-hour trek nonstop to Australia. He’ll probably still be convincing himself that Brock Purdy is a better quarterack than Baker Mayfield.
Evans launching his second NFL career in a high-profile game — with Bucs fans having little to do but watch him — makes for an interesting dynamic. The numbers of Tampa Bay eyeballs on that game will be tremendous.
Joe wonders whether the Bucs will have the stones to seize the day and capitalize on the big night for Evans.
Perhaps Team Glazer could have a giveaway event simultaneously, such as one that provides a handsome reward if you drive in and drop off your Evans game jersey from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. that night — all part of an old-school Buccaneers pep rally to take fans’ minds off the nightmare of watching Evans wearing a 49ers jersey.
Consider that the Bucs just spent a ton of manpower hours producing a goofy schedule-release video. Will they be willing to invest similar hours and effort into comforting the Bucs fans they hold so dearly?
— JoeBucsFan (@JoeBucsFan) May 15, 2026
May 15th, 2026 at 7:17 am
“The Fighting Russinis” – good one Joe!
May 15th, 2026 at 7:28 am
Buffalo needs to kick the snot out of the Patriots this year.
May 15th, 2026 at 7:30 am
Wouldn’t it be ironic if we get it together and win the Superbowl? Mike would feel sick. Joe, do you propose burning those jerseys after they are dropped off? Your tone suggests that.
May 15th, 2026 at 7:42 am
Evans who?
May 15th, 2026 at 7:46 am
There’s a pretty good chance we win our division, even BETTER chance Niners only get a wildcard, which means Mike could come here for a playoff game. THAT would be awesome
May 15th, 2026 at 7:51 am
We’re going to do this crap all year, aren’t we.
May 15th, 2026 at 8:02 am
It would be awesome if the 9ers missed the playoffs and Mike Evans enjoys the post season fishing in the San Francisco Bay!!
May 15th, 2026 at 8:07 am
Wow! It seems this worldwide craziness is going to start right out of the gate this year. And also the subscription madness. H haven’t actually looked at the schedule yet. Maybe I ought to do that now.
May 15th, 2026 at 8:09 am
Hey, we need to get over it Joe. We lost a great one. He simply gave up on this franchise after looking at what he saw as little opportunity to finish his career with another chance at a Superbowl. I am super disappointed and loved watching him play as a Buc. However, given the current status of the Bucs chances of winning this next year, I can’t blame him. The Bucs have made some bad personnel decisions . Inspite of all he lost plane ride being the smallest, yet choose to leave says tons about the franchise.
Good Luck Mike
May 15th, 2026 at 8:15 am
I have no intention of watching that game. Why would I?
May 15th, 2026 at 8:16 am
Couldn’t care any less. I will not be watching anymore then Dean or any other ex Bucs players. They are gone. They made their choice. So long..
May 15th, 2026 at 8:17 am
I hate Netflix.
May 15th, 2026 at 8:20 am
The road to a superbowl is much easier with the Bucs than the 49ers. Miscalculation by Evans. The 49ers might be the 3rd best team in their division behind the Superbowl champs and the Rams.
Enjoy that flight Mike. Ive done it (from Tampa), and it’s brutal.
May 15th, 2026 at 8:25 am
I have got week #7 in the ‘when does ME have hamstring issues and needs to be limited or out by’ pool.
May 15th, 2026 at 8:28 am
Dude get over it man
You think he cares nope
He’s on his last leg
Blows a hammy misses 7 games watch
The field in San Francisco is trash
May 15th, 2026 at 8:41 am
I will be surprised if there isn’t a thread every week. Did he get injured or pull his hammy. How many catches, yards and TDs did he have.
May 15th, 2026 at 8:46 am
Question Joe ??
Why are you mad at Mike?
This guy gave everything to the Bucs. Yall are mad he left ??
THE BUCS KEPT BOWLES !!! No other team would have done that even the Past shows the Bucs firing coaches for less.
If the Glazers keep Bowles (for whatever reason) which to me shows they do care about winning more than something else WHY SHOULD MIKE CARE!
3-28. Mike yelled it
Mike Knows way more than any of us on the behind the scenes which probably shows MORE INCOMPETENCE BY BOWLES.
Evans is awesome!!! He was awesome to the fans PLAYED his Heart out for this team
I blame GLAZERS for him leaving
May 15th, 2026 at 8:46 am
Yall acting like a bunch of scorn exes lol move on man Mike made his decision he’s got every right to his decision he gaved us what? 10? Great years. Move on man
May 15th, 2026 at 8:54 am
I wish nothing but the best for mike.
May 15th, 2026 at 8:54 am
Bucs3 is 100% Correct!! But time to look at what we have right now and in the Post Bowles Seasons coming up
May 15th, 2026 at 9:04 am
Bottom line is Mike Evans, when motivated, is a whale of a player. He oughta have a few more really good years in him. We won’t replace him but we aren’t bereft of weapons, that’s for sure.
May 15th, 2026 at 9:17 am
I’ll be rooting for Mike to succeed with his new team. He balled out for us and helped Tom Brady bring a second title to Tampa. Never forget that.
Who can blame him for wanting to get away from the stench of the Bowels movement.
He was the best player ever drafted by Licht. It was a no brainer choice.
Evans was so good he made Johnny Manzel look like a top flight QB.
May 15th, 2026 at 9:31 am
How many Patriots fans traded in their Brady jersey???
No one should be trading in their Evans jersey. Mike is arguably the best offensive Buc ever and gave the vast majority of his career to this team and community selflessly.
May 15th, 2026 at 10:14 am
The Glazers invest in comforting Bucs fans? Pffffftt!
May 15th, 2026 at 10:18 am
I bet Mike wishes he could have / should have waited until after the draft to make his decision. Massive focus on defense that was sorely needed.
I wish him well and thank him for everything. With that, he is no longer a Buc.
On to Cincinnati.
May 15th, 2026 at 10:35 am
gotta love the “journalism”
Thank you. Opinion writing has fallen under the umbrella of “journalism” for 150+ years. Throw in the bias that’s been embedded in journalism for those same 150 years, and one could attempt to argue all journalism reflects opinions, beliefs and arbitrary definitions of societal norms. When Joe worked in newspapers, the most coveted jobs were those writing for the opinion pages, cobbling together facts to form opinions that reflected the company’s corporate view. –Joe
May 15th, 2026 at 10:41 am
TomMoore4President2028 Says:
May 15th, 2026 at 9:31 am
How many Patriots fans traded in their Brady jersey???
No one should be trading in their Evans jersey. Mike is arguably the best offensive Buc ever and gave the vast majority of his career to this team and community selflessly.
BINGO!!!!!!
i have 3 Mike Evans jerseys(red, white & creamsicle) and I aint trading none of them…
Wish Mike well and hope he has a great year…we’ll see him in the playoffs
BROCK>baker
GO BUCS!!!!
May 15th, 2026 at 11:01 am
“Buc for 1 more year”..
Dang autocorrect
I mean “Buc for Life” Mike Evans convincing himself Purdy is better than Bake is purdy comical
May 15th, 2026 at 11:22 am
I don’t give a f@$: about evans wont be watching anything fruit cake related f evans and his new team he will get hurt its n his blood to be a weakling
May 15th, 2026 at 11:47 am
Wow again.
What a great article.
I will be ferociously cheering for Mike every week, wearing my red Mike jersey. He’s a total class act and made the only decision he could for himself and his family after the 2025 meltdown and subsequent circus act at One Buc Place.
Thrive, Mikey, thrive.
May 15th, 2026 at 11:47 am
I wish Big Mike well, except when he plays us.
May 15th, 2026 at 12:18 pm
I also am rooting for Mike, unless we make the Playoffs and see him there. I hate the 49ers, but I would be so glad for Mike to win another Superbowl and cement his 1st ballot HOF ambitions. I love M1K3 and can’t blame him for leaving our defensive guru 3rd & 28 HC.
May 15th, 2026 at 12:31 pm
Hope we have a chance to play the 49ers at home in the playoffs…. Would be nice to see Winfield knock Evans on his butt. lol.
May 15th, 2026 at 1:04 pm
I’m still a Mike Evans fan and thank you Mike for everything you gave to the community and team for all those years. i wish Mike nothing but the best for him and his family going forward. Go Bucs and Go Niners because because Mike is on the team.
May 15th, 2026 at 1:08 pm
Why would I give up my Evans jerseys?
I hope he thrives in SF.
I’ll keep my Evans jerseys. I’ll pray for him to stay healthy and do well.
Unless he plays Tampa. Then I’ll pray only for him to stay healthy, but have his hands as slick as Teflon.
May 15th, 2026 at 1:12 pm
I love Mike so much.
This hurts so much.
Godwin took 20 million less to stay in Tampa.
Mike really broke my heart.
May 15th, 2026 at 1:30 pm
I have a salute to service jersey for ME13 and I will forever cherish it. He’s been a dog for us for so many years. Playing with sub par QBs and what not. Never complaining. . Just going out there and dominating. I love hearing Steve Smith talk about evens. He admires him and has said on record that yes, he gets a hammy every year. But he still gets 1k yards and dominates. His point being, if this man could play for a full season he would be a total stud (more so then he actually is) i wish Mike all the best. He was our guy for a decade . Unless we play them in which i hope he had a bad game lol.
May 15th, 2026 at 1:35 pm
Loved Mike, no ill will here
But he will decline eventually, gets more injury prone every year.
Looks really old in the photo and I’m in my 50s… so I can relate. LOL
I’ll root for SF unless them winning hurts the Bucs in any way.
We look fine at WR. Hope Hurst balls out when in the game.
Go Bucs!
No injuries!
May 15th, 2026 at 2:43 pm
Zac Robinson told ESPN that Egbuka reminds him of Cooper Kupp. The ESPN writer claimed Egbuka could lead the league in targets and receptions.
I expect the wide receiver group will be much better this year than last year. I expect Evans will fit in well with the aging, injury-prone 49ers.
May 15th, 2026 at 3:12 pm
I hope Mike gets 1700 yards, 11 tds, 100 rec and the 9ers miss the playoffs. While we go on to win the Superbowl.
May 15th, 2026 at 3:39 pm
Hope Mike plays well and stays injury free. That being said:
WE ARE ON TO CINCINNATI.
May 15th, 2026 at 4:25 pm
To even suggest some ceremony to turn in Mike jerseys is truly a shocker. Never expected this out of JBF.
Cue the Scrubber Of Posts … for the poster who has had 32.8 screen names and a bizarre agenda.–Joe
May 15th, 2026 at 4:37 pm
Very well written and very entertaining article !
May 15th, 2026 at 5:00 pm
it was a new low for jbf to turn on mike and his legacy as a buc.
A quick search of your comment hisotry reveals a rather steady flow of complaints. Why keep visiting over and over and over again. Joe doesn’t tell fans how to be fans, and Joe doesn’t accept being told Joe’s fandom is less than ok. –Joe
May 15th, 2026 at 5:09 pm
I’ll be rooting for Mike in the playoffs.
Bowles will make sure that’s the only choice I have.
And the Pom Pom squad will continue to run cover for the fraud HC\DC.
May 15th, 2026 at 5:17 pm
Rather read about current Bucs, not 49ers. Joe’s prerogative.
May 15th, 2026 at 5:22 pm
Maybe I can safely say this now that the crowd has gone from ME was lynchpin of any good the Bucs did to now being the goat for snubbing the Bucs. I believe there were two reasons Mike left. One was his rustrations with team performance – and much much more the defense than Baker. The 2d was maybe the Bucs let him know that he also did not perform as well as needed last season and that he needed to show he was not regressing. That the young receivers were going to get more looks. Or something like that.
I’m sure that would irritate him, but I wonder if maybe JL and the guys expected it and were ready to move on>>>
May 15th, 2026 at 6:14 pm
Let’s move on.
May 15th, 2026 at 6:39 pm
No bizarre agenda. No agenda. And I changed my screen name to protest the loss of the best player in Bucs offensive history, why he left and how nothing was done when it could have been. That’s it.
May 15th, 2026 at 7:16 pm
All these Bucs fans can say what they want but they will all be watching even if they don’t admit it. Evans was a huge bright spot for this organization and there was always something special between him and the fans of Tampa Bay. When he broke Jerry Rice record against the Saints at the Licht house was the best moment in this teams history besides the 2 super bowls. Mike will be missed and he will come back home when he retires and get his flowers.
May 15th, 2026 at 9:30 pm
I hope the 9ers go 0-17 and ME misses the season after a pulled hammy on the flight to Australia. He left the franchise that helped him get his 1k with a playoff on the line. I’m not and never will be 9er fan. Hope we win a SB this year while Mike sulks in an ice tub.
May 15th, 2026 at 9:52 pm
Mike should have a good season if he stays healthy. Purdy is a very accurate passer when he has good protection.
I wish ME a happy and healthy future, but I hope that the 49ers have a difficult season, just like I hope all other teams have difficult seasons.
Zac’s new Buc’s offense is going to sizzle and our defense is going to be motivated to not miss the bus.
May 15th, 2026 at 10:32 pm
I’ve been with the Bucs five times longer than Mike and I was ready to leave last year.
May 16th, 2026 at 7:27 am
Good grief. Of course JBF will have articles and opinions on Evans in SF. He is probably the best offensive Buc player in history and arguably the best ever.
Y’all acting like Joe is writing about Scotty Miller.
At their core JBF is a fan first and foremost and why their articles and podcasts speak to so many of us. OK, end rant.
May 16th, 2026 at 9:59 am
“Cue the Scrubber Of Posts … for the poster who has had 32.8 screen names and a bizarre agenda.–Joe”
And those 32.8 screen names arise only when his mom gives him permission to go online…
May 16th, 2026 at 6:33 pm
Personally i wish Joe & the rest of Tampa Bay media would just lose the name ME13, he doesn’t play for the Bucs . If people want to follow him then subscribe to a 49ers site or watch the 4 letter network that specialized in the left side teams.
May 16th, 2026 at 6:34 pm
Personally i wish Joe & the rest of Tampa Bay media would just lose the name ME13, he doesn’t play for the Bucs . If people want to follow him then subscribe to a 49ers site or watch the 4 letter network that specialized in the left side teams.