“Jason, you need a helluva lot more on defense than just me. If I didn’t care about winning, I’d have stayed in Cincinnati.”
Joe has speculated that Mike Evans telling the Bucs, in essence, “Thanks but no thanks, I want to win,” might just make other free agents think twice about coming to Tampa Bay.
“If Mike Evans doesn’t think that team can win, do I really want to go there?”
It seems, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, we may have seen the first example. The Bucs were very much in the thick of bringing Hendrickson back home to Florida, Fowler wrote. The initial sticking point with Hendrickson was that Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht only wanted Hendrickson on a short-term deal. The Apopka native and graduate of Warren Sapp High School and Florida Atlantic wanted a longer deal.
And before the Crows got into the mix and aggressively pursued and signed Hendrickson, the man who has 74.5 sacks this decade let it be known he wanted to play for a contender?
Where have we heard that before?
#PriceIsRightFailHorn
Joe has zero idea if Evans spoke with Hendrickson — it wouldn’t be a shock. If you are Hendrickson, wouldn’t you want to reach out to Evans to get an idea of what’s going on with the Bucs and maybe get insight into why Evans bolted?
So in a span of roughly a week, Hendrickson, by way of his agent’s proxy Adam Schefter, let it be known on a *very* public forum how he would love to play for the Bucs and stay in Florida (Hendrickson lives in Ponte Vedra).
And then? “Nah, I’m good. I’m going to ride with Lamar Jackson and bet he figures out how to win a playoff game or two.”
So, if the Bucs have been branded by NFL players, two stars, as a non-contender, and since the Bucs cannot develop a rookie edge rusher, it seems the only way Licht will get a proven edge rusher is to trade for one.
Yeah, that means Licht may have to give up a cherished draft pick. But hey, it worked with Jason Pierre-Paul. It can work again.
And if Licht pulls off another heist like he did with JPP, hey, three years later, trading for a stud could be the beginning of a turnaround, just like it was with JPP winning a Super Bowl three seasons after he arrived.
The Colts, Bills, Bucs, Commanders and Eagles all were involved in Trey Hendrickson's free agency before the All-Pro agreed to terms with the Ravens, per sources.
The Colts felt like they were close at one point.
The Eagles got involved late.
Tampa pursued but on a… pic.twitter.com/LPuAONjbQv
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 11, 2026