Tampa Bay Buccaneers veteran Mike Evans' may be one of the top free agent wideouts on the market, but he's not a fit for the Cleveland Browns
As needs go, wide receiver is obviously one of the most pressing for the Cleveland Browns this offseason. It's likely that Executive Vice President of Football Operations Andrew Berry will look to address that void in multiple way, via free agency and the draft.
The first of those is just getting started, and Cleveland will have some options when it comes to pass catchers they can pursue on the open market, one of those targets, according to a recent report from Cleveland.com, could be Tampa Bay Buccaneers veteran Mike Evans.
On the surface, there is a pretty obvious reason why Evans to the Browns makes sense. The 2014 first-round pick has spent the entirety of his 12-year career with the Bucs, a stretch that includes a three-year stint where new Browns head coach Todd Monken was his offensive coordinator, from 2016-2018.
That means there's proof on concept. Evans is one of the most consistent receivers in NFL history, with this year being the first of his career that he didn't eclipse the 1,000-yard receiving mar and his best season came under Monken.
His on-field impact is undeniable, on top of the fact that for a team like the Browns – who are embarking on a pivotal offensive overhaul – Evans would be a respected voice in the locker room.
True as those things may be, Evans to the Browns doesn't actually add up
It all comes down to timing.
Evans is 32, and has dealt with numerous injuries throughout his career, including this past season, when he missed nine games due to injuries. The Browns are at a point where they need to get young on offense by signing and drafting players who can be cornerstones years from now.
At this stage of his career, Evans should be viewed as a 'get us over the top' type move for a team that is a piece or two away from being a real championship contender. Hence why a team like the Buffalo Bills was linked to him, before trading for D.J. Moore.
Cleveland isn't anywhere near that. And Berry knows it. He flat-out admitted at the NFL Combine that as an organization, they're not really in the business of adding older free agents this year, and that their emphasis is on giving young players opportunities to grow and develop.
"I think we're still building out this new core," he said in Indianapolis. "I think also roster spots they’re commodities and I think one of the things that we want to continue to lean into that we did last year is having roster spots open for young players to contribute and grow and play as opposed to necessarily maybe blocking them for a short-term solution basically where our team is currently."
Nothing about that answer makes Evans seem like a player they'll actually sign. Sure there are those surface-level connections, but when one considers the current lifecycle of Cleveland's roster, those things quickly fade away pretty quickly.
There's a reason Berry didn't want to reward Amari Cooper, the only player in franchise history with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, with a new contract as he was about to turn 30 before the 2024 season.
The quest to get younger at the wide receiver position has been going on for several years now in Cleveland. Why would that suddenly change with the roster very much in transition?
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