GM Jason Licht says Tampa Bay Buccaneers want to retain Lavonte David and Mike Evans. One faces a clear choice; the other's future destination remains a captivating mystery.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could enter the 2026 regular season without two of the best players in franchise history, and general manager Jason Licht hopes that isn’t the case.
For one of them, there are only two possible outcomes.
For the other, there are multiple.
Lavonte David, who has been with Tampa since the franchise drafted him out of Nebraska in 2012, has already made it clear that he’ll either return to the Bucs or retire at 36.
David will be a free agent, so he could test the market if he wanted to.
But he doesn’t want to, and David has also said that the Bucs told him they’d take him back if he does want to play.
The case of Mike Evans is more intriguing.
We know through one of Evans’ agents that the 32-year-old (will be 33 in late August) is going to play next season, ending any thought that he might retire after 12 seasons in the league.
But that’s about all we know.
Evans might return to the Bucs. Or he could play somewhere else.
Given the amount of publications that write about the NFL in 2026, Evans has probably been linked to just about everybody by now.
Among the most popular destinations are the Buffalo Bills, who didn’t have a receiver eclipse 800 yards last season, and the Philadelphia Eagles, who will have a hole if they move AJ Brown.
Evans was also curiously linked to the Las Vegas Raiders, who are expected to take Heisman Trophy-winning QB Fernando Mendoza first overall, but are also coming off the league’s worst record.
When speaking with SirusXM NFL Radio at the NFL combine in Indianapolis last week, Licht made it clear that he wants David and Evans to retire as Bucs.
"We’d love to have both of those guys. Obviously, legendary Bucs. I think I can say here, I’m not making those decisions, but I can say both of those guys will be in the Bucs’ Ring of Honor."
While Licht stated he thinks the careers of both players are worthy of the Hall of Fame, he didn't go so far as to commit the team to keeping them at all costs.
"They’ve earned their right to make decisions, what their future is going to be."
Licht said the team has "been down this road" of contract negotiations twice before with Evans.
When Evans’ rookie contract expired after the 2017 season, the Bucs signed him to a five-year, $82.5 million extension with $55 million guaranteed.
While under that contract, Evans and the team tried to negotiate for two years ahead of his hitting the open market as an unrestricted free agent in 2024, according to ESPN reporting at the time.
The Bucs and Evans finally agreed to terms on a two-year, $52 million extension just ahead of free agency in 2024, but it was not the long-term deal Evans had wanted, which would have ensured that he spent the rest of his career in Tampa Bay.
Evans’ market value, according to Spotrac, is an estimated $26.6 million over two years. There's no indication from either Evans' representatives or Tampa Bay whether Evans wants to sign for more than two years.
David has signed five contracts with the Bucs: his rookie contract, his fifth-year extension in 2015, a two-year contract in 2021, and then three consecutive one-year deals.
David played in all 17 games last season, but he revealed in a January interview with the “Bussin’ With the Boys” podcast that his knee required drainage every week during the season.
David underwent knee surgery after this past season. How well he recovers could play a factor in his willingness to come back.
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