Jalen McMillan Bummed About Mike Evans’ Departure, Excited For Future
June 2nd, 2026
Time to fly.
Mike Evans is gone. And he ain’t coming back, other than to be put in the Ring of Honor, flash his Hall of Fame ring, return for Super Bowl reunions or, perhaps, his jersey retirement.
(Joe thinks only Bucs players who spend their entire careers in Tampa Bay and are in the Hall of Fame should be eligible for a jersey retirement — though Joe might be open-minded to retire No. 12.)
There is no world in which Bucs receiver Jalen McMillan wanted to see Evans walk out the back door of One Buc Palace and take a pay cut to go to another team. But that’s exactly what happened. So while McMillan is bummed about that, he’s equally excited to see what he and Chris Godwin and Emeka Egbuka can do for the Bucs’ passing offense.
“Obviously, [Evans] was a huge part of this program,” McMillan said. “We can’t replace him. But, like I’ve been saying, he’s left this room in great hands.
“He’s given so much knowledge to us [as has Chris Godwin]. I mean, I’m just excited to step in and see what we could do. This is where we’re going to gain confidence. This is where we’re going to play without Mike.
“We played without Mike in a couple of games last year [and played well]. I mean, we’re just going to continue it.”
This is where Egbuka has a shot to establish himself as one of the league’s best. This is where McMillan can establish himself as a man not just to be taken seriously, but feared.
Joe is a big McMillan fan. KitKat-eating Bucs coach Todd Bowles raves about McMillan’s mental toughness.
McMillan had a strong rookie season. He didn’t get much of a chance last year with his broken neck. Now healthy and likely to get a lot of targets, the table is set for him to become a force.
June 2nd, 2026 at 9:15 am
Some football players just get it. They love it. They love the game of football. JMac is one of them.
June 2nd, 2026 at 9:26 am
Like Bob Seger said-‘Turn the Page’. It is a New Era and time for these other Bucs to step up and shine. ME and his Hammie’s are off to the city of Needles and Homelessness and not coming back. None of these guys should be coming out tapping their helmets after running more than 30 yards. It is a New day in Tampa Bay. LFG!!
June 2nd, 2026 at 9:45 am
JMac NEEDS TO break out THIS YEAR! I personally Love the guy for what it seems most might have missed. However…. he CAN’T comfortably take another shot to his progression like he did last year. He got robbed last year, pure and simple. He MUST cover that “make up ground….PLUS. Take the lead this year, if he can. And without Evens around, Chris IS a “shoe in”, but after that? IT’S ANBODY’S GAME TO TAKE!
He’s GOT the talent to do it. He’s shown he CAN HANDLE THE LOAD (circa 2024) and his trajectory reminds me of Chris Godwin in that McMillan IS Clutch! Funny enough, that’s Great but then that’s also scary because he reminds me of Chris Godwin in All Aspects after last years removal from most of the season!
However, I’m a GIANT SUPPORTER of McMillans and as long as he can avoid the medical tent, LOOK OUT!
June 2nd, 2026 at 10:21 am
“We played without Mike in a couple games last season”….
And that was with Egbuka & Tez in only their rookie seasons, McMillian’s career & livelihood in jeopardy and a not all the way back yet CG
I don’t think our WR is in as bad shape as others do with Mike leaving. I also think our Offense will be less predictable and more versatile. Only concern on Mike leaving is a premier red zone target is gone. But I think we are in great shape overall and the young WR room is only gonna get better too!
June 2nd, 2026 at 10:25 am
You take an honest look at Evans declining production over the past two years and you reasonably have to conclude the trajectory is DECLINE and injury prone. A great player who is in decline. Licht made the right call
June 2nd, 2026 at 10:35 am
I’m excited to see what Ted Hurst can do as the new X receiver. Let’s say it, and embrace it, he’s the new Mike Evans. He’s taking his place in the line up. Oh he’ll play the Z, the slot, Evans did. Make no mistake, he’s the guy who’s going to run the boundry. He’ll be lined up like Mike was in the redzone looking for that jump ball over the DB. Mike’s gone, but keep an eye on Hurst. It’s time to look to the future.
June 2nd, 2026 at 11:15 am
NOTHING CHANGES IN THIS DOWNWARD SPIRAL UNTIL THE HC IS GONE.
June 2nd, 2026 at 11:41 am
99 was retired Joe.
June 2nd, 2026 at 11:44 am
We are spiraling upwards not downwards. This roster is stronger than last year’s roster by quite a bit. We didn’t lose much production by Evans leaving and David retiring. I fully expect their replacements to do better than they were and we also greatly enhanced several other positions.
June 2nd, 2026 at 11:57 am
Bucs scored 38 against Seattle without Mike bucs are more then fine it was the defense that was the problem as they were healthy and struggled and the offense was injured and struggled.
June 2nd, 2026 at 1:07 pm
I think J Mac was very honest and on the money. He did not want to see ME leave, who did. However he is a competitor and is happy to have more opportunities now. I think I remember hearing ME say the wide receiver room was in great shape. When I heard that it was my clue he planned to leave. I mentioned earlier ME time here was closing it just happened before any of us were ready and in a way no one wanted to see. The Buc receivers now have more opportunities and ME has a better chance of getting another ring in SF.
I think while sad it was a win for the current Buc receivers and ME. However admit seeing him leave was tough thing to swallow.
June 2nd, 2026 at 1:32 pm
No retirement of 13. I agree with Joe. If you want to have your number retired in Tampa, you need to spend their entire career here, make the HOF here, and probably would need to win a SB here, as well.
Number retirement is rarified air. There are only a few of those you can hand out per franchise, given the need for 53 active jersey numbers.
…and do you know who should never be retired? Guys that quit on their teammates. The one and only exception to this rule should be guys like Lynch, who didn’t move on — he was moved on from.
June 2nd, 2026 at 2:06 pm
JMac has a huge heart and loves ball. He came back from a broken neck last year and really made an impact. Too bad Evans doesn’t have that kind of heart. Evans gave up on the Bucs and quit – without telling Godwin. I understand Joe needs website hits at any cost and so keeps bringing up Evans – because there’s nothing else to talk about.
June 2nd, 2026 at 2:12 pm
Whatever. Sure. He’s the Mike Evans replacement. Yep.