The Tampa Bay Buccaneers not only missed the playoffs this season, but franchise legend also failed to reach 1,000 yards receiving for the first time in his career. Many are wondering if the potential Hall of Famer will decide to hang up the cleats after such a disappointing season, and Evans himself said that he’ll think about whether or not to retire when he crosses that bridge.
“I just approach it how I always approach it,” Evans said during the regular season, according to Jenna Laine of ESPN.com. “It’s whatever happens, happens. I’ll focus on that when the time is right. Right now, we have to win. And I’m always giving my all, and I’m always gonna go out swinging.”
With the regular season in the rear view mirror, Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield spoke about the situation in an appearance on The Ronde Barber Show.
“I don’t have to really plea with it,” Mayfield said. “Mike’s too much of a competitor and cares too much about Tampa to end his career without 1,000 yards, without a division championship, without a playoff run.
And that, first of all, speaks to who Mike is but that’s the truth. And you know he doesn’t want to do that. You could just kind of feel it. Listen, I don’t have any info. I’ve told Mike, ‘This is your decision. Take your time doing it.’ But, understanding who Mike is, this is my guess, that he didn’t want it to end this way.
“He knows the potential if we’re able to stay a little bit more healthy. Zac will do great things for us, and we’ll go from there. But Mike’s got more in the tank. You could tell with the energy, the fire he had at the end of the year.”
If Evans returns, there’s an outside chance that he’s wearing a different jersey for the first time in his career, per Tony Pauline of Essentiallysports.com. It’ll be interesting to see how the situation shakes out.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.