Talks on a new deal during the summer did not produce an agreement for Mike Evans, leaving him as a pending free agent entering the season. The uber-consistent wideout has had another strong campaign, though, upping his value on a third Tampa Bay pact.

The Buccaneers want to retain Evans, Dianna Russini of The Athletic writes (subscription required). Efforts were made to ensure he would be in the fold beyond 2023, but little traction was found before the four-time Pro Bowler’s self-imposed Week 1 deadline arrived. Evans has been a major factor in the Bucs’ offense this year, however, including the team’s three-game win streak entering Sunday’s action.

The former first-rounder has already eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark, meaning he has hit that threshold every season in his 10-year career. Evans has also scored double-digit touchdowns for the fifth time in 2023, and his pair of scores in today’s game has him in position to set a new personal best in that regard. To no surprise, then, Russini notes that Evans’ asking price has likely risen compared to where things stood in the offseason.

The Texas A&M product is playing out the end of his five-year, $82.5MM pact signed in 2018. The $16.5MM AAV of that deal sits well below the top of the market given the monster contracts a number of wideouts have signed in recent years. At the age of 30, it will be interesting to see how much term Evans will be looking for on a new pact in addition to compensation. Working out a new deal would replace the void years on his current pact, which calls for a cap charge of over $12MM in 2024.

Tampa Bay already has a pricey WR deal on the books, though, with Chris Godwin set to carry a cap hit of over $27.5MM next year. Extending him could lower that figure, but doing so would require committing future resources at the position to someone other than Evans. The latter was mentioned in trade talks at the deadline, but he was retained and a November report suggested Tampa Bay was willing to negotiate a new deal ahead of free agency.

Retaining Evans would provide valuable continuity to an offense which faces quarterback uncertainty at the moment. Baker Mayfield is firmly on the extension radar, though, and a new pact for him will no doubt include a considerable raise from his 2023 compensation. Whether or not Evans will be in place for the Bucs’ 2024 offense will be a major storyline for the team after the campaign has come to a close.

Plenty of attention continues to be paid to the high-profile players believed to be on the trade block. That list does not include Mike Evans, and to no surprise the Buccaneers are not interested in shopping their leading receiver.

During a Good Morning Football appearance, general manager Jason Licht said, “I’m really looking forward to Mike continuing his great career here in Tampa and extending his streak of 1,000 yard seasons here with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers” (h/t Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers).

Evans’ future has come into question after talks on an extension failed to gain traction during the offseason. The four-time Pro Bowler set a deadline of the start of the campaign for an agreement to be worked out. That came and went, and the team elected to let Evans play out the 2023 campaign ahead of a fresh round of talks and, potentially, a free agent period.

It was reported at the time that Tampa Bay had no intention of trading the 30-year-old, so it comes as no surprise that Licht has confirmed the team’s stance on that front. Mutual interest exists for club and player to continue their ongoing relationship, but talks on another new deal will be complicated by a number of factors. Evans’ age will be one, along with the existing commitment to fellow wideout Chris Godwin. The latter is on the books through 2024 and has a scheduled cap hit of over $27.5MM next year.

Evans has posted 507 yards and five touchdowns on 33 catches this season, putting him on track to yet again reach the 1,000-yard mark. Doing so would extend his streak in that regard to 10 years and help his free agent stock. The Texas A&M product would no doubt generate a healthy market on a short-term deal in particular, though the upward trend seen at the receiver position in recent years could lead to an asking price teams would see as untenable.

For the time being, the Buccaneers will move forward with Evans and Godwin leading their Baker Mayfield-led offense. Tampa Bay sits at 3-4, giving the team a realistic chance of winning the NFC South for a third straight season. Evans’ performance in the second half of the season will be worth watching given its implications on the spring, but it can comfortably be assumed his tenure in Tampa Bay will continue through at least the end of the campaign.

September 9: Confirming the expectations set up yesterday afternoon, Adam Schefter of ESPN has reported that the Buccaneers will officially not be meeting Evans’ player-imposed deadline for a contract extension. Several reports, including those of ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, indicate that Tampa Bay is not expected to trade Evans and will let him play out his contract year and head for free agency in the offseason.

Even at age 31, Evans is set to be a priority free agent after topping 1,000 yards receiving in every single season of his nine-year career in Tampa Bay. If he can deliver another strong outing catching passes from the arms of Mayfield and, potentially, Kyle Trask, it should secure at least one more strong contract for the Bucs’ all-time leading receiver.

September 8: Mike Evans gave the Buccaneers a Saturday deadline to finalize an extension, but after a multiyear stretch without a known offer coming the Pro Bowl wide receiver’s way, it never looked like the team would meet that deadline. It does not appear the Bucs will.

The team does not have plans to extend Evans at this time, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini tweets. This could bring a quicker-than-expected end to Evans’ tenure with the franchise. While Evans has expressed hope of staying in Tampa throughout his career, the Bucs’ all-time leading receiver certainly could become a trade candidate. It would be unlikely the team would cuff him with the franchise tag ahead of his age-31 season.

[RELATED: Evans Addresses Buccaneers Future]

Although Russini notes the Bucs still value Evans — their all-time receiving leader by a wide margin — the team would have until October 31 to unload him in a trade. The Bucs will use Evans to see if Baker Mayfield can bounce back from two forgettable seasons, but his name seems all but certain to come up in trade rumors. Evans is going into his age-30 season and holds a record no one else has approached. Evans’ nine 1,000-yard seasons are two more than any other pass catcher has ripped off to start a career. Evans’ consistency aside, it does not look like he will collect a third contract from the Bucs.

Tampa Bay extended Evans on a five-year, $82.5MM deal in 2018; the receiver market has changed substantially since that point. Evans’ AAV came in behind only Antonio Brown‘s second Steelers extension at the time of signing; it has dropped to 17th. Far less accomplished receivers have passed Evans, including his own teammate. The Bucs extended Chris Godwin on a three-year, $60MM deal in 2022, doing so after applying a second franchise tag. At 27, Godwin is three years younger than Evans. While Godwin’s long-term place with the post-Tom Brady Bucs is uncertain as well, he is a much better bet to be back in 2024 compared to Evans.

Prior to landing Evans with the No. 7 overall pick, the Bucs had not had much luck finding a long-term wide receiver staple. Veterans like Vincent Jackson, Keenan McCardell and Joey Galloway helped the cause during stretches earlier this century, but Evans checked in as a reliable outside target from the jump. Brady and Jameis Winston utilized Evans as a go-to target, and the Texas A&M alum will enter this season with 10,425 receiving yards. No one else has topped 6,000 as a Buccaneer.

Evans stands to be a big name in free agency, potentially on his way to the market after this year featured a modest class. A team that trades for Evans would have exclusive negotiating rights until next year’s legal tampering period. Despite GM Jason Licht saying he wanted Evans around long term earlier this summer, the Bucs’ exclusive negotiating rights have not produced an agreement. The Bucs also lost Russell Gage, moving sixth-round rookie Trey Palmer into a more prominent spot. UDFAs Rakim Jarrett and Deven Thompkins are the only other wideouts on Tampa Bay’s roster.

The Jets could make sense as an Evans suitor, ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini writes. New York losing Corey Davis to a mid-training camp retirement and having some questions behind WR1 Garrett Wilson could make them an interested party. Other teams will surely call the Bucs as well in what could be one of the more interesting receiver trade markets in recent memory.

Time is running out for the Buccaneers and Mike Evans to work out an extension before the latter’s self-imposed negotiating deadline. Plenty of progress remains to be made to get a deal done in that span, leaving his future in Tampa Bay beyond 2023 in question.

The two sides have until tomorrow to reach an agreement on a new pact, with attention shifting to the new campaign after that point. One year remains on Evans’ current deal, and both team and player have expressed a desire to continue their relationship for years to come. When speaking publicly about his financial situation, though, the 30-year-old did not repeat the sentiment that he is looking to continue playing in Tampa beyond this season.

“Ownership and management are going to do what they feel is best for the team and the team in the future, and I’m going to do what’s best for me and my future,” the former first-rounder said, via ESPN’s Jenna Laine. “And right now, that’s just playing some good ball.”

Evans is reportedly seeking a deal similar to the three-year, $80.1MM contract the Rams gave Cooper Kupp after his triple crown winning season in 2021. Evans’ track record of consistent success (highlighted by his nine consecutive 1,000-yard campaigns to begin his career, an unprecedented run in NFL history in that regard) will likely not be enough to earn him such a commitment from the Buccaneers. Signficant cap constraints are present for the now Tom Brady-less outfit in 2023 and the future, so a pricey investment investment in a veteran would need to be weighed carefully against efforts to free up money for the team’s younger core players.

Tampa Bay also has a $20MM-per-year commitment at the receiver spot in the form of Chris Godwin. The 27-year-old was among the Buccaneers personnel who expressed optimism that a deal keeping Evans in the fold would pay dividends for all involved. It is increasingly unlikely that one will be worked out in the immediate future, though, something Evans in acutely aware of.

“Obviously we’ve been working with them for over a year now, trying to get something done,” he added. “Any player in my position would want to be secure… I don’t know. We got a little bit of time left, but we’ll see.”

The Buccaneers have been discussing an extension with their longest-tenured starter since early this summer. While the team is transitioning from the Tom Brady period, agreements with pillars acquired before the legendary quarterback’s arrival took place this offseason.

Tampa Bay re-signed Jamel Dean and Lavonte David, doing so despite sitting well above the salary cap entering the offseason. Brady’s $35.1MM dead-money charge, brought about from the void years the franchise tacked on for cap purposes, hamstrung the Bucs. But they have managed to retain key players. They want Mike Evans to join that list.

The contract Evans signed back in March 2018 has been passed over by many receivers over its duration. At the time, the $16.5MM AAV made Evans the NFL’s highest-paid wide receiver. Illustrating this position’s importance in the modern game, that number now sits 17th among wideouts. Evans’ less accomplished teammate, Chris Godwin, passed him amid the 2022 receiver market boom. Godwin signed a three-year, $60MM extension after the Bucs franchise-tagged him for a second time.

Due to the increasingly void years-reliant Bucs tacking three such years onto Evans’ deal via restructures, the team would be hit with a $12.2MM dead-money charge if Evans is not re-signed by the start of the 2024 league year. Naturally, the Bucs want to avoid that scenario.

“I can’t see Mike playing anywhere else,” Licht said, via The Athletic’s Dan Pompei (subscription required). “I hope and think we can figure something out so he can retire a Buc. We want Mike to be here long term.”

Squarely on the Hall of Fame radar after becoming the first receiver to start his career with nine consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, Evans is going into his age-30 season. He should not be considered a candidate to eclipse Tyreek Hill‘s $30MM AAV — a number that will likely soon be surpassed, as Justin Jefferson aims for a Vikings extension — but the Bucs will likely need to authorize a raise for a player entering his 10th season.

Evans totaled 27 touchdown receptions from 2020-21, but as Brady and the offense regressed last year, he finished with just six scores — his fewest since 2017. But the 6-foot-5 target has remained durable, missing more than one game in a season on only two occasions (three absences in 2019, two last year). Suspensions have also brought on some of those misses for the Marshon Lattimore nemesis.

The Texas A&M alum will be a vital piece for the post-Brady Bucs, who are still deciding between Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask. With Antoine Winfield Jr. also a 2024 free agent (and an extension candidate), the Bucs will have some decisions to make soon. The Bucs have done well in letting players play out their contract years before re-signing them. Dean, David, Carlton Davis, Shaquil Barrett and Ryan Jensen are a number of recent examples of Licht and Co. retaining players despite those talents reaching the open market. The void-years component complicates the Bucs following suit with Evans, but a third contract for the greatest wideout in team history has been on the radar for a bit now.

An extension for Mike Evans has been under consideration for much of the offseason in Tampa Bay, and finalizing one would prolong his tenure with the team and generate immediate salary cap benefits. Talks could produce an agreement in the near future.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes that an extension for the Pro Bowl wideout could be worked out by the end of training camp. Doing so would be beneficial for team and player given the $23.69MM cap hit he is set to carry for the 2023 season. Mutual interest is believed to exist to strike a deal in this case, something Evans recently confirmed.

“Finishing my career with one team, that would be awesome to do that,” he said. “I’m sure they want that, and I want it as well. Hopefully we can get an extension. Would be good for both parties.”

Evans is entering his age-30 season, but his remarkable consistency makes him a logical candidate for another new deal. The former first-rounder’s five-year, $82.5MM pact proved to be a worthwhile investment as Evans continued his career-long streak of recording 1,000 or more yards in each campaign. Flattening out his 2023 cap hit while ensuring he will remain with the Buccaneers as they begin the post-Tom Brady era at quarterback would provide stability for the transitioning team.

Still, Tampa already has one $20MM-per-year commitment at the WR spot with Chris Godwin; no team has two such deals at the position. Any Evans extension would also eat into the more than $27MM in cap space Tampa is currently scheduled to have next year, spending power which will be welcomed after dealing with a league-leading $75MM in dead money this season.

For the time being, at least, Evans will be counted on as a focal point of the Buccaneers’ offense as the team sorts out its situation under center. It remains unclear whether Baker Mayfield or Kyle Trask will earn the Week 1 starting job, but either passer will no doubt lean heavily on Evans during the season. Whether the latter has a new deal in place by the start of the campaign will be a key storyline to follow in the coming days and weeks.