Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Evans agreed to a two-year, $52 million deal on Monday that includes $35 million guaranteed, according to his agent Deryk Gilmore. Evans now has a real chance to start and finish his career in Tampa. Evans hasn't really slowed down at all entering his age-31 season this fall, as he has yet to finish any one of his 10 seasons in the NFL with the Bucs under 1,000 yards receiving. He made his fifth Pro Bowl in 2023 and finished with 79 receptions (136 targets) for 1255 yards and a league-leading 13 touchdowns in 17 regular-season games to help quarterback Baker Mayfield to the best season of his career. While Evans is likely to regress in the TD department in 2024, there's no reason to believe he'll finish under 1,000 receiving yards as long as he stays healthy, especially if Tampa also re-signs Mayfield.

New England Patriots personnel leader Eliot Wolf and newly hired Alonzo Highsmith both played a pivotal role in drafting quarterback Baker Mayfield first overall five years ago when they were with the Cleveland Browns, which has ESPN's Jeremy Fowler connecting the dots and suggesting that the Patriots could look to sign Mayfield in free agency this offseason. The Patriots could sign a veteran signal-caller like Mayfield and then trade the third overall pick in this year's NFL draft for more draft capital, which is desperately needed. If the Minnesota Vikings end up re-signing quarterback Kirk Cousins (Achilles) to a long-term extension, Mayfield will be the top free-agent QB on the market after his career-best season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2023.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers impending free-agent wide receiver Mike Evans' agent, Deryk Gilmore, said that "Mike wants to play with an elite quarterback in an offense that will showcase him -- and be paid like a top wide receiver. He doesn't want to play with a rookie QB. Winning a Super Bowl is a key priority." Evans is expected to draw interest from several teams in free agency, including the Bucs. The 30-year-old and the Bucs are far apart in contract talks, and Evans announced on Friday that he plans to test the free-agent market, which doesn't bode well for him re-signing with the Buccaneers. The five-time Pro Bowler has reached the 1,000-yard mark in all 10 seasons in Tampa and is one of the most consistent pass-catchers in the game, even at 30 years old. QB Baker Mayfield had a career year in 2023, but he is by no means considered an elite signal-caller, and is a free agent himself.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans has reportedly been in discussions with the organization on a possible long-term deal. Despite that, it sounds like Evans wants to see what he is worth on the open market. Evans could always return to Tampa Bay, but he wants to test free agency and see what teams are interested in his services. Last season, Evans finished with 79 receptions for 1,255 yards and 13 touchdowns. He has surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in his first 10 seasons in the league. The 31-year-old still has plenty left in the tank and should land himself a massive deal this offseason.

Right now it looks likely that impending free-agent quarterback Baker Mayfield will re-sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason, but NFL Network's Tom Pelissero mentions the Atlanta Falcons as a dark-horse candidate to get involved. Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said that re-signing Mayfield is an "extremely high priority" after the former first overall pick had the best season of his career in Tampa in 2023. New Falcons head coach Raheem Morris and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson know Mayfield from his short stint with the Rams at the end of 2022. Atlanta is seriously looking to upgrade the QB position this offseason over Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke, and Mayfield would represent an upgrade. However, all signs are pointing to the Bucs and Mayfield running it back in 2024.