Damning.
It’s one thing for Jamel Dean to say he left the Bucs because he felt his last chance to win another ring is getting away from the team where he won his first ring.
But for Mike Evans, the greatest offensive player the Bucs have ever drafted, to tell the world when joining his new team that he took a paycut and agreed to grotesque state taxes in order to have a chance at another Super Bowl, well, unless the Bucs can prove otherwise, Capt. Fear is going to be walking around with a black eye and a big, long brown skid mark on the backside of his slacks.
Ben Solak, typing for BSPN, said this Evans-leaving-the-Bucs scenario is sad all around. Sad for NFL fans in general, sad for Bucs fans. But more:
Solak wrote if Evans really believed San Francisco was a better option for him to win than the Bucs, then it’s damning for the Bucs organization, damning for Bucs coach Todd Bowles and damning for a guy Evans was supposedly tight with, Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield.
The fact that his contract with the 49ers is so team friendly is a clear sign that he wanted out of Tampa Bay. Why exactly he wanted out of Tampa Bay — and why exactly he chose his new team — is the subject of much speculation. It’d be a brutal look for the Buccaneers if his motivation was to join a true contender, and he elected to go to the toughest division in the league instead of staying in the weakest. It’d be a brutal look for Baker Mayfield if he wanted a quarterback upgrade and went to Brock Purdy. And it’d be a brutal look for Todd Bowles if he was simply exhausted with the current messaging.
It’s likely a combination of all three. I admire how well the Buccaneers did him on the way out, lauding him with organization statements of gratitude even as he evidently chose another team over them. I, like all NFL fans (save for some Falcons and Saints and Panthers haters), will be sad to see Evans suit up for another team come September.
There is really not much more that Joe can add to Solak’s words. The Bucs bragged at the combine that Bowles’ three division titles in his first three years as a Bucs coach demonstrated they are in the top tier of teams in the NFL.
Evans’ actions and words (and, to a lesser degree, Dean’s actions and words) totally blew up that narrative. What Joe would like to know is where Evans thought the Bucs were lacking.
Remember, the Bucs slapped around the 49ers last year, without Evans. Did Evans grow that disgruntled at Bowles? Did he lose trust with how Mayfield played in the second half of the season? Did the constant revolving door of offensive coordinators wear Evans down? Did Josh Grizzard leave Evans with a bad taste in his mouth and thereby wanted stability?
Or, was it as simple as third-and-23?