The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are one of the most interesting teams to watch in the upcoming NFL offseason. Do they rebuild, retool or stay in win-now mode?
Tom Brady announced his retirement for a second time on Feb. 1, leaving the Bucs without a viable starting quarterback option for 2023. Another thing of note: Star linebacker Lavonte David and top cornerback Jamel Dean are free agents, and GM Jason Licht must make decisions on both.
If the Buccaneers decide to rebuild, they’ll have several big-named veteran players who could bring a nice return in a trade. At NFL.com, Adam Rank made the case for Tampa Bay trading its franchise player in star wideout Mike Evans:
“In the wake of Tom Brady’s retirement, I’m not sure how close the Buccaneers are to being competitive. Even if they were to nab an accomplished veteran signal-caller — like, say, Derek Carr — I’m not sure how high the ceiling is. Winning a watered-down NFC South again? Alright, yeah, maybe. But actually competing for a title? Hard to see. Thus, moving on from the 29-year-old Evans in the last year of his contract makes too much sense.
A lot of people might think I’m just saying this because I want him to go to Chicago…But Evans actually would be a great acquisition for a number of teams, including some seriously looking to make a Super Bowl run. Like the Dallas Cowboys, who are desperate to venture beyond the Divisional Round for the first time since Bill Clinton’s first term. Turns out Jerry Jones and Co. probably made a mistake dealing Amari Cooper last year. Dak Prescott needs more juice out wide, and I imagine Evans — a Texas native who starred at Texas A&M — wouldn’t mind playing for the ‘Boys. If the Rams wanted to make another go at it, there’s another option. How about the Chiefs? Would that even be fair??”
Evans has been the model of consistency since his 2014 NFL rookie season. He has hit over 1,000 receiving yards in each of his nine NFL seasons, and he’s recorded six seasons of eight or more touchdown receptions.
Evans is the Buccaneers’ top player with Brady now gone. But would Licht really decide to part ways with the fan favorite while he’s still in his prime? It could simply come down to what kind of offers Tampa receives.
But so far, the Bucs haven’t given any indicators that they’re looking to trade Evans.
