Mike

Evans

It was sort of assumed that Evans would just run it back in Tampa as a career Buccaneer, but perhaps he’s actually interested in seeing what is out there for him. That’s about how it played out the last time Evans hit free agency, when he wound up with a two-year, $41 million contract with $29 million in guarantees. The Buccaneers have a much better wideout room now than they did in 2024, at least on paper, with Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin, and Jalen McMillan under contract. Evans is also entering his age-33 season and coming off a year where he missed time with a broken collarbone, so his market may also be reduced. Still, he played well while healthy. This will be one to watch over the next few weeks.

Retirement will soon be in Evans’ future, but the veteran receiver isn’t expected to hang it up after the 2025 season. Evans, who will be 33 at the start of next season, had the worst season of his career this year. He caught 30 passes for 368 yards and three touchdowns while missing nine games due to injuries. Laine reports that the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent has yet to discuss his future, suggesting a departure from the Buccaneers could be possible this offseason. It’s hard to know how much Evans has left in the tank at this stage of his career, and his days as a true WR1 could be behind him. That said, if healthy, there would be plenty of teams he could still help if he were to opt to leave Tampa in free agency.

Evans, 32, is coming off his 12th NFL season. It is the first time in which Evans finished with fewer than 1,000 receiving yards, though he missed time with a hamstring strain, a broken collarbone and a concussion. He is scheduled to enter free agency this offseason. It’s hard to imagine him playing anywhere other than Tampa in 2026, but with the full room of wideouts healthy entering this offseason, his fantasy football role may take a major hit.

Robinson joined Atlanta two years ago when the team hired Raheem Morris as their head coach. He had previously worked under Sean McVay for five years, working his way up to pass game coordinator for the final two. Robinson started off strong, getting Atlanta to 13th in points scored despite Kirk Cousins struggling in his first year as a Falcon. The switch to Michael Penix in 2025 didn’t go as planned and the team cratered to 24th in scoring. The hope for Baker Mayfield and company will be that Robinson was simply dealt a bad hand in Atlanta. The hiring bodes particularly well for Bucky Irving. Atlanta ranked top-10 in rushing yards in both of Robinson’s seasons with the team.

Evans would have needed a little over 600 yards to keep his streak of thousand-yard seasons alive. He didn’t. The 32-year-old dealt with injuries, but even when on the field this was far from his best regular season with just one game over the century mark. Evans is a decent bounceback candidate for 2026 — even if he will be entering his age-33 season — but also could have a chance to do damage in the postseason if the Falcons lose to the Saints on Sunday.

Evans had his second-straight game of 31 yards and a touchdown, scoring on the last Bucs drive of the game. He nearly had a toe-tap touchdown in the third quarter, but was pushed out of bounds on the catch. Evans committed a rare offensive pass interference in the fourth quarter, but later drew his usual defensive pass interference prior to his touchdown catch late in the fourth quarter. Evans is the 10th player in NFL history with 13,000 receiving yards and 100 touchdown receptions. The 32-year-old remains just 666 yards away from keeping his 1,000-yard streak alive. Evans is a fantasy WR2 in a matchup for the division against the Panthers for those still playing fantasy games in Week 18.

Evans continues to be the Buccaneers’ WR1 since returning from his collarbone injury. It was an inefficient 31 yards on nine targets, a product of a struggling Bucs offense that has failed to take advantage of opportunities. Evans scored the Bucs’ first touchdown of the game on a goal-line fade from the one-yard line in the first quarter. He was targeted in the end zone twice from the one-yard line again in the third quarter, drawing a defensive pass interference before a Sean Tucker rushing score. He still needs 697 yards over the next two games to keep his 1,000-yard streak alive. Evans is a fantasy WR2 for Week 17 against the Dolpins.

The veteran receiver got in a full session on Friday and will be on the WR2 line against the Panthers in the first of two clashes between the NFC South co-leaders. Evans got a full day off on Thursday, but was limited on Wednesday.

Evans will likely have his reps limited during practice over the next few weeks. Making his triumphant return from the broken collarbone he suffered in Week 7, Evans was as good as anyone could have hoped on Thursday. He earned 12 targets, six of which were caught for 132 yards. Evans immediately returned to the No. 1 role in the Bucs offense and made the most of his many opportunities. He is in line for a WR2 ranking for Week 16 against Carolina.

It may not have been the most efficient outing for Evans, but when you consider it was the first time on the field for the future Hall of Famer since Week 7, it’s an incredibly impressive performance. The 32-year-old worked the sideline for most of the contest, and showed he’s still as good as it gets at jump balls with a 45-yard snag. Evans is far from a lock to put up these kind of numbers each week, but clearly the connection with Baker Mayfield is going to make these kind of outings possible. The Panthers are next in Week 16.