Four Destinations For Mike Evans in Free Agency

One of the most prolific wide receivers in NFL history is hitting the open market come March. Mike Evans, the only wideout to date to record eight straight 1,000-yard seasons to begin his career, is a free agent now that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' season ended at the hands of the Detroit Lions in the NFL playoffs. Normally a player of Evans' caliber and status would never come close to free agency. But he and the Bucs were unable to reach an extension before this season and everybody seemed unhappy about that. Especially Evans.

His discontent with the contract situation clearly did not affect him all that much as Evans recorded 1,255 yards and 13 touchdowns on 79 catches. Business as usual for the Texas A&M product, and in fact a touch above his career averages. His play was crucial to helping Baker Mayfield adjust quickly and it's likely Tampa doesn't win the division without the connection those two quickly established. Mayfield clearly thinks so, and told reporters immediately after throwing a season-ending interception that he wants Evans back next year.

On Monday it was more of the same as every Buccaneer who was asked sang Evans' graces and implored the front office to keep him in Tampa Bay.

The problem, of course, is that it'll be quite difficult for Tampa Bay to bring him back. The price tag undoubtedly went up significantly after they forced Evans to bet on himself and he churned out another stellar campaign. But the Bucs have a lot of other issues that will make money tight. They need to bring back Mayfield, for example. And if they ink Evans to a huge deal then they'll be sinking a ton of money into the receiver position since they probably will not cut Chris Godwin and his $20 million salary (it'll only save them $1 million in cap space). A lot of difficult decisions lay ahead for the organization. The Bucs could always use the franchise tag but that would not go over well with Evans or his teammates so it doesn't feel like a strong possibility at the moment.

It seems lit's more likely than ever the 30-year-old Evans will have a new home next year. He will have many suitors interested in giving him a large bag of cash in exchange for his services because, even on the wrong side of 30 with a drop problem that popped up this season, he is one of the league's premier jump-ball targets with a lengthy history of production. Teams love a strong resume and a clear skillset.

So here are three possible free agency destinations for the two-time All-Pro and 2023 leader in receiving touchdowns.

New England Patriots

The Patriots have a new guy in charge and oodles of cap space, so it is truly anybody's guess how their first post-Belichick foray into free agency will go. But Jerod May told reporters on Monday that he plans to burn cash to bring in talent. Evans certainly qualifies, and his presence would give New England a clear path in the draft. Sitting at No. 3 overall, they could sell the pick to whoever wants to give up a small fortune for Marvin Harrison Jr. and then take one of the second-tier QB prospects like Jayden Daniels. Evans is a young QB's best friend as the greatest safety blanket a receiver could be. He'd make plenty of money, too. The Pats are so starved for wideout talent that they'll probably hand Evans a blank check if he expresses interest.

A good match for both sides. As long as Evans doesn't mind the possibility that the Patriots are bad for a while. He is not the final piece to that roster.

Houston Texans

Hello, new exciting young team with a rookie quarterback! The Texans are in a position of great envy, a spot nearly every single team in the NFL wishes they could get to. They've got a roster proven capable of winning playoff games, a tremendous up-and-coming head coach, and a quarterback coming off a stellar rookie season and four years left on his cheap deal. They'll enter this offseason with nearly $70 million to spend-- and spend it they will.

Evans would be a great use of that money, even in a draft well-stocked with receiver talent. Nico Collins and Tank Dell seem like a great combo but have much different skillsets than Evans', and Houston should be doing everything they can to put elite weapons around CJ Stroud no matter how highly they might think of their young wideouts. Giving Evans a bag would help Dell return gradually from his late-season broken leg and only good things can happen if Stroud has a target of that size to toss the pigskin up to. Evans gets to make a bunch of cash and join a good team. Everybody wins as long as the Texans are on board with this sort of asset allocation.

Kansas City Chiefs

Evans would almost certainly be too expensive for Kansas City, even if they have some money to play with this offseason. But it is not hard to imagine Evans being happy to take a slight cut to play with Patrick Mahomes and for the Chiefs to aggressively reorganize cap hits in order to be able to afford Evans. They are somehow still playing late into January and it is not thanks to their wide receiver room, widely viewed as one of the worst in the league. It's pretty easily the worst of all the playoff teams. No matter how the season ends KC will be looking to upgrade their receiving core in a big way, and Evans certainly qualifies.

Money is the big obstacle here, as it often is. Evans will probably want a deal that comes with a starting salary of at least $20 million annually. As it stands the Chiefs are projected to have $26 million in cap space to work with. If they made Evans a priority and were willing to sacrifice tangible upgrades in other parts of the roster, they can make this happen.

Indianapolis Colts

The Colts had a bit of a wash year in 2023 after Anthony Richardson got hurt in Week 4 and Gardner Minshew went the rest of the way. It proved that Shane Steichen's offense is good enough to function with the backup quarterback in place and that Steichen himself is flexible enough to adjust to the skillsets he has to work with. It also proved that Indy needs some help at receiver. Michael Pittman has developed into a good, sometimes great possession guy. Alec Pierce is good for a few deep balls every game. Josh Downs looks like a find.

But Evans would represent a huge upgrade, and one the Colts will be tempted to take since they came within one win of an NFC South title and a home playoff game with Minshew. Indy has $66 million in cap to work with so the money won't really be an issue. Bringing in Evans would elevate the core from average to above-average with the chance to be even better with some internal development. A young quarterback needs weapons to succeed and the Colts have money to spend. They'd make a lot of sense.