Six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Evans will be back for a 13th NFL season in 2026, his agent confirmed Tuesday. So, the big question now is whether he’ll finish his career where he’s played all of it so far in Tampa.
The Buccaneers remain the odds-on favorite for Evans, a rare top-tier receiver who’s only played for one team in his entire career. Of the receivers ranking in the top 10 all-time in career touchdown receptions, only three — Evans, Larry Fitzgerald (Cardinals) and Marvin Harrison (Colts) — retired with the same team that drafted them.
While Evans’ streak of 1,000-yard seasons ended in 2025, he’s still set to be one of the top free agents this offseason. He came in at No. 15 on my top 100 NFL free agents list earlier in the offseason, ranking third among the wide receivers set to become available.
Evans just finished a two-year, $45 million contract, and he’ll be 33 when the upcoming season starts, so his next contract might end up a little lower from an annual value standpoint. His valuations are all over the map, though. The Athletic just projected him at $51 million for two years, while Spotrac has him at just over $13 million a year; Pro Football Focus gave him a one-year, $18 million deal.
So we offer up five potential landing spots for Evans. Will he be a lifetime Buc like Ronde Barber and Derrick Brooks, or finish a Hall of Fame career elsewhere like John Lynch and Warren Sapp?
The Patriots’ loss in Super Bowl LX indicated they could use some wide receiver help. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
New England went from 4-13 to playing in the Super Bowl in a single season, and they did it without a true star on the receiving end of Drake Maye’s passes. Stefon Diggs could be cut with a big contract and modest returns, and if they did that, it would cost close to the same to bring in Evans, who is the same age as Diggs but has had a much more consistent NFL career. For comparison, the Patriots haven’t had a receiver get 10 touchdowns in a season since Randy Moss in 2009, while Evans has done it six times in that span.
C.J. Stroud and the Texans could use another wide receiver. Is Galveston, Texas, native Mike Evans the answer? (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
The key here is that Evans is from Galveston, Texas, less than an hour from Houston, and spends part of his offseason back in his home state, so this wouldn’t be a departure to a strange city he doesn’t know. Had he not decided to re-sign with the Bucs two years ago, the Texans were in play, and their success last season with perhaps the NFL’s top defense doesn’t hurt them.
Houston went 12-5 last year and won a playoff game, so they qualify as the kind of playoff contender he would want to play for at the end of his career. They already have two 6-foot-4 standout receivers in Nico Collins and Jayden Higgins, so you could argue Houston might prefer a speed threat more than adding even more size to their receiving corps. The Texans also have limited cap space and other positional needs that arguably have more urgency.
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs haven’t had a true No. 1 wide receiver since they traded Tyreek Hill. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
The Chiefs have an MVP quarterback in Patrick Mahomes without a true No. 1 receiver — in the three seasons since they traded Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins, no Kansas City receiver has caught more than seven touchdowns in any year. If tight end Travis Kelce does retire, there’s a greater need for star power in the passing game, and having played for Tom Brady, Evans will appreciate being able to have one of the very best passers throwing you the ball.
Rashee Rice’s off-field problems could add to the immediacy to upgrade at receiver, and while they’re still over the cap even after restructuring of Mahomes’ contract, they have other moves they could make to facilitate a contract like Evans will command. If Mahomes is healthy again, they’ll be a contender and their need for receiver help could make them a potential match.
Josh Allen and the Bills have needed wide receiver help for the last couple of seasons. (Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images)
Buffalo sure could use a No. 1 receiver, just like Kansas City. Despite having an MVP-caliber quarterback in Josh Allen, the Bills haven’t had a receiver get more than five touchdowns in a season over the last two years. They’re moving into a brand-new stadium this fall, so it’s nice to make a splash signing to add extra buzz around the team, and the offensive shift with coordinator Joe Brady getting promoted to head coach would mesh well with adding a high-profile receiver to their talented offense.
Would Evans like to play in the cold after 12 years in sunny Florida? Cold weather might not be ideal for a player with persistent hamstring injuries, and the Bills are over the salary cap right now, so they’d need some maneuvering to add a pricey receiver, though a second, non-guaranteed year or void years could lower the immediate cap hit involved in signing Evans.
Mike Evans and Baker Mayfield have formed one of the top quarterback-wide receiver duos over the last few years. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Evans is the best offensive player in Tampa Bay history — no offense to Tom Brady’s three years with the Bucs — and has rewritten all of their receiving records. He’s been the team’s Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee four times and has consistently expressed a desire to be a “Buc for life,” playing only for Tampa. General manager Jason Licht, whose very first pick on the job was taking Evans in 2014, has said the same, with a reputation of rewarding his team’s best players by keeping them in town.
But the Bucs have other positional needs, like edge rusher and linebacker, and they have solid depth even without Evans at receiver, with Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan back healthy for 2026, and Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson still developing after combining for 11 touchdown catches as rookies. Quarterback Baker Mayfield has lobbied for Evans to come back for another season as well, and the offense is much more dangerous when Evans and his 108 career touchdowns are occupying a defense’s priorities.
Is the news this week that Evans will explore free agency just agent-driven leverage, trying to get a little more from the Bucs with the idea there’s competition for his services? Or could he really finish his career in another uniform? That will be answered in less than a month, when free agency opens and players can talk to new teams starting March 9.
