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?