The Buccaneers had six captains in 2025. It was the 12th season for wide receiver Mike Evans to wear the “C” on his jersey and the ninth for linebacker Lavonte David.
Evans left for the 49ers in free agency, and David retired.
It has raised the question of who will step up into leadership roles to replace them.
General Manager Jason Licht is not concerned, with Baker Mayfield, Tristan Wirfs, Vita Vea and Antoine Winfield all returning.
“I feel strongly about this group of guys and the leadership that we have, starting with the quarterback,” Licht said Wednesday, via the team website. “We have got Tykee [Smith], Calijah [Kancey], the entire offensive line, Bucky [Irving]. God forbid I leave out Vita. He’s been around for a long time, but in his own way, he has a lot of leadership. I think some of the players that we added with Alex [Anzalone] and Kenneth [Gainwell] and Miles [Killebrew] and I think all of those guys have been really good leaders so that will help supplement what we have.”
The Buccaneers will announce their captains before the start of the season.
Mike Evans will be the best wide receiver with whom Christian McCaffrey has ever played. The Pro Bowl running back has never played with a Pro Bowl wide receiver, much less one who has built a Hall of Fame-worthy resume.
Last year was the first year of his 12-year career that Evans did not reach 1,000 yards receiving. His 11 consecutive seasons of 1,000-yard seasons to begin a career set an NFL record.
“I was so fired up, man,” McCaffrey told Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “He’s somebody that, if you’re a fan of football, you’ve watched his entire career, and it’s hard not to like the guy. He’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He’s somebody that, in my opinion, has never gotten enough credit, and I think he plays that way. He plays with a chip on his shoulder.”
Evans signed a three-year deal with the 49ers this offseason, leaving Tampa with 866 receptions for 13,052 yards and 108 touchdowns.
“He’s one of the best go-ball runners in the history of the NFL,” McCaffrey said. “He blocks his butt off. He’s mean, and he’s the perfect fit for our offense. I’ve just been such a fan of his from afar, and the way he plays football.
“And so now, to get to play with him, to pick his brain on a lot of stuff, I think that’s what I’m excited about—is to learn from him and kind of see what stuff he can bring to our team that maybe we need. And to have a guy like that who’s experienced the NFL at every level is super exciting. So, we’re so fired up to have him.”
McCaffrey will be the best running back with whom Evans has ever played. Doug Martin was a Pro Bowler in 2015, Evans’ second season, and the only Pro Bowl running back Evans has had.
The 49ers remain optimistic that they will come to agreement with left tackle Trent Williams on a revised contract for the 2026 season, but Williams won’t be on the roster forever and the team’s pre-draft work has included meetings with a couple of the top tackles in this year’s class.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Caleb Lomu and Kadyn Proctor both visited with the team recently.
Lomu started at left tackle for Utah the last two seasons and joins college teammate Spencer Fano as a potential first-round pick in next week’s draft. Proctor is also a left tackle and started at Alabama for the last three seasons.
The 49ers have the 27th overall pick next Thursday and moving up the board might be necessary to assure themselves of coming out of the first round with a potential starter on their offensive line.
The 49ers are wrapping up the pre-draft visit season by meeting with a potential addition to their receiver room.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that they are hosting wide receiver Omar Cooper on Wednesday.
Cooper has met with a number of other teams after helping Indiana to a national title during the 2025 season. He had 69 catches for 937 yards and 13 touchdowns in his final season with the Hoosiers and is considered a likely first-round pick when the draft gets underway next Thursday.
The 49ers signed veterans Mike Evans and Christian Kirk as free agents during a makeover of their wideout group. Kendrick Bourne and Skyy Moore have signed with other teams while Jauan Jennings remains a free agent and Brandon Aiyuk is expected to be released at some point before the start of the regular season.
Brock Purdy was an unlikely leading man when he became the 49ers’ starting quarterback as a rookie, but the five-year contract extension he signed before last season left no doubt that he’ll be playing the role for a long time.
Purdy struggled with a toe injury for most of the first half of the year, but returned to start six straight wins that pushed the 49ers into the playoffs. He threw 16 touchdowns over that span, but a Week 18 loss to the Seahawks kept the Niners from winning the division and they lost in Seattle again in the divisional round of the playoffs to end the season.
The two Seattle losses were poor outings for Purdy and he threw a pair of interceptions in a playoff win against the Eagles as well, so the final three-game run last season might be why fullback Kyle Juszczyk has picked up on negative feelings about his teammate. During an appearance on The Jim Rome Show, Juszczyk said that he thinks Purdy is being shortchanged in the court of public opinion.
“I don’t know what it is, what it’s going to take for this guy to finally get the respect that I think he truly deserves,” Juszczyk said. “Season in, season out, he plays tremendously and I don’t know what it is. I don’t know if it’s just the fact that he’s not a first-round draft pick, if that is just going to be the story for his entire career and be kind of held against him. Maybe. I love the guy, as a person, as my quarterback, as a football player. He is the dude.”
Purdy was the final pick in the draft and that lent itself to an early narrative that Kyle Shanahan’s offensive system made him a success, but Purdy’s continued strong play has chipped away at that argument. He’s also shown he can win in the playoffs by getting the team to the Super Bowl in his second season and winning five overall times in the postseason, so it’s hard to conjure up too many reasons to doubt Purdy’s ability to lead the Niners even if those that do are capturing the ears of his teammate.
