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Team Glazer members and Raise The Flags co-stars.
Joe is getting a good laugh from all the sports radio chatter and social media freakout surrounding Mike Evans possibly leaving in free agency.
If Team Glazer doesn’t want Evans to stay, then he won’t stay. If they want him, he’ll be here. It’s as simple as that.
First, the Bucs could slap the franchise tag on Evans if they desired. That would prevent Evans from leaving and lock him up for about $28 million for the 2026 season. Of course, teams can still negotiate a new contract with a franchised player; Joe assumes Evans wants another two-year deal like he signed in 2024.
_Twice_, the Bucs slapped fellow stud receiver Chris Godwin with the franchise tag. It’s not the evil tool some players and fans make it out to be. Godwin played out his first franchise tag year and the Bucs tore up the second tag in favor of a new, multi-year contract.
Yes, $28 million for Evans in 2026 likely represents him being overpaid by at least $5 million. If it actually came to that, $5 million or even $7 million isn’t exactly a ton of money under a salary cap that exceeds $300 million for the first time.
Joe is not advocating overpaying Evans, but it’s certainly better than overpaying Zyon McCollum.
Again, it’s unlikely re-signing Evans comes down to an overly harsh negotiation. Evans likes playing in Tampa and the Bucs will find what he’s willing to accept with a smile. Also, Joe is confident Evans would say the Bucs would have been a dangerous playoff team if he didn’t miss 9 games last season. So Evans believes in his impact and believes the team around him has loads of talent.
And that brings Joe back to Team Glazer. If ownership wants fans to have hope for a spectacular 2026 season, then Evans comes back. If that’s not a priority, then, well, there’s a chance Evans is wearing enemy colors.