During a dozen years in Tampa, receiver Mike Evans has quietly pieced together a strong case for Canton. The next chapter could be coming with a new team.
Evans becomes a free agent on Monday. Two years ago, he re-signed with the Buccaneers before hitting the market.
Teammate Chris Godwin, who opted to stay with the Bucs during free agency a year ago, can’t process the possibility of Evans playing elsewhere.
“It would be so weird,” Godwin said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “I can’t imagine talking to him on a different field and seeing him in a different jersey. . . .
’I hope that he’s here. I don’t know the intricacies of the deal. Everybody does their own thing. I don’t know what he’s willing to take and I don’t know what they’re willing to offer. But I hope that he’s back, for a lot of reasons, but he’s my brother.”
As Stroud notes, Evans will have interest elsewhere. Possibilities include the 49ers, Chargers, Commanders, and Giants.
It all comes down to money. Chances are that the terms already are in place, with the only thing standing in the way of the news breaking is the clock striking 12 on Monday afternoon.
Evans had 11 straight 1,000-yard seasons with the Buccaneers, tying him with Jerry Rice for the all-time record. (Evans holds the record for consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to start a career.)
With 866 catches, 13,052 yards, and 108 touchdowns, Evans ranks 31st in career catches, 21st in receiving yards, and 10th in receiving touchdowns. He was a member of the team that won Super Bowl LV.
Whether he joins a new team or stays put in Tampa for at least another season will be known soon.
49ers Clips
Eddy Pineiro has secured some job stability as the 49ers’ kicker.
Pineiro, who was scheduled to hit free agency next week, has instead agreed to a four-year contract to remain in San Francisco.
His agents told reporters that the total value of the contract is $17 million, with $10 million guaranteed.
The 30-year-old Pineiro has had an up-and-down career, spending time with the Raiders, Bears, Colts, Commanders, Jets and Panthers before signing with the 49ers last year. In 2025 he went 28-for-29 on field goals, with a long of 59, and the 49ers will hope he can maintain that kind of consistency going forward.
Word emerged earlier this week that the Commanders were not planning to place a restricted free agent tender on kicker Jake Moody, which would have made him an unrestricted free agent next week.
But now, Moody isn’t going anywhere.
Per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Moody has agreed to a one-year deal to return to Washington for 2026.
Moody, a 49ers’ third-round pick in 2023, ended the 2025 season with Washington. Appearing in six games for the club, Moody connected on 10-of-11 field goals and 10-of-11 extra points.
San Francisco waived Moody after he missed a pair of field goals in Week 1. He kicked in two games for Chicago before making his way to Washington late in the year.
In his 40 career games, Moody has made 78.0 percent of his field goal attempts and 97.3 percent of his extra points.
The 49ers are hiring Kent State offensive line coach Angel Matute, Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports reports.
Matute’s role with the team is not specified, but offensive line coach Chris Foerster lost his assistant, Cameron Clemmons, who was promoted to the tight ends coach.
Matute began his coaching career as an offensive assistant with the University of Missouri in 2021. He participated in the 49ers’ Bill Walsh NFL Diversity Coaching Fellowship in 2024 before serving as an offensive analyst and assistant offensive line coach at Purdue.
Matute joined Kent State in 2025.
The 49ers are adding an experienced defensive coach to their staff.
Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, Matt Eberflus is joining San Francisco as the club’s assistant head coach of defense.
Eberflus fills the role vacated by Gus Bradley, who followed former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh to Tennessee.
Eberflus, 55, was the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator in 2025 after serving as Bears head coach from 2022-2024.
The 49ers hired Raheem Morris to be their defensive coordinator to replace Saleh.
Although 49ers left tackle Trent Williams said at the end of last season that he will be back this season, that doesn’t appear certain.
The 49ers and Williams have made no progress on a new contract, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.
Williams is heading into the final year of his current contract and has a $38.8 million cap number that the 49ers would like to reduce. If they can agree on a new deal that would lower that cap number this year while guaranteeing him some money in 2027, that could make sense for both sides.
But if the two sides can’t come to an agreement, it’s possible that the 49ers would cut Williams. The 37-year-old Williams is still playing well, but the 49ers may decide that their long-term interests are better served by moving on.
Whether it’s in San Francisco or elsewhere, Williams believes he has a few good years left in his career, and he’ll be a sought-after free agent if the 49ers move on.
Kicker Jake Moody is set to hit the open market.
Via reporter Jordan Schultz, the Commanders will not place a restricted free agent tender on Moody, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent next week.
Moody, a 49ers’ third-round pick in 2023, ended the 2025 season with Washington. Appearing in six games for the club, Moody connected on 10-of-11 field goals and 10-of-11 extra points.
San Francisco waived Moody after he missed a pair of field goals in Week 1. He kicked in two games for Chicago before making his way to Washington late in the year.
In his 40 career games, Moody has made 78.0 percent of his field goal attempts and 97.3 percent of his extra points.
The 49ers are keeping their veteran long snapper.
San Francisco announced on Tuesday that the club has re-signed Jon Weeks to a one-year deal.
Weeks was set to become an unrestricted free agent next week.
Weeks joined San Francisco last year after spending his first 15 seasons with Houston. He earned his second career Pro Bowl berth with the 49ers in 2025.
Weeks has not missed a game since entering the league in 2010 as an undrafted free agent, playing in 261 contests. Weeks turned 40 on Feb. 17.
The coming quarterback carousel may not include Mac Jones.
Per The Athletic, a market has not yet emerged for the backup to 49ers starter Brock Purdy.
It makes sense. With plenty of free-agent options currently available — and with more coming as cuts are made — quarterback-needy teams are far more likely to consider players who could be acquired without losing a draft pick.
The 49ers wisely signed Jones to a two-year deal last year, giving them full control over his rights for 2026. They say they don’t want to trade him, but that’s surely posturing. For the right price, they’d find another No. 2 for the coming season.
Jones is due to make only $3.25 million in 2026. If someone trades for him with the idea of making him the starter or a competitor for the job, he may want a raise. That adds another wrinkle to the situation.
For now, it makes sense for the teams that are looking for quarterbacks to look to the open market. Once the initial wave subsides, a team that has yet to satisfactorily address the position may decide to make a play for the 2021 first-round pick.
Some of the moves that will be made over the next week will be surprising. Some will not be.
In the “not surprising” category comes the news, via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, that the Texans will release veteran safety Jimmie Ward.
Ward, 34, didn’t play in 2025, due to both placement on the Commissioner Exempt list and, after that, the Physically Unable to Perform list. He suffered a foot injury late in the 2024 season.
The move, per Schefter, creates $750,000 in net cap space.
Picked in the first round of the 2014 draft by the 49ers, Ward spent nine seasons in San Francisco. He signed with the Texans in 2023, when 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans became the head coach of the Texans.
Ward appeared in 10 regular-season games with 10 starts in 2023, and 10 regular-season games with 10 starts in 2024.
