Will franchise cornerstones Lavonte David and Mike Evans continue their legendary careers? Or is retirement beckoning for these Buccaneers icons?
Two of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' franchise cornerstones might have played their last game for the franchise.
Defensively, Lavonte David, who has made two All-Pro teams and won a Super Bowl over his 14 seasons with the franchise, might retire.
On the other side of the ball, Mike Evans might do the same.
Evans will be 33 by the time the 2026 season begins, and he's three years younger than David. By that metric, the Bucs receiver's chances of coming back would be greater.
Make no mistake, Evans can still play. He didn't accomplish as much as expected this season, as he missed time battling a hamstring strain, a broken collarbone, and a concussion. Evans played in eight of Tampa's 17 games and didn't have a fair chance to break Jerry Rice's record for consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.
From 2014-2024, Evans surpassed 1,000 yards receiving every year.
Evans wouldn't have been able to tie Rice's all-time NFL record if he weren't durable.
In his first 11 seasons, Evans never played in fewer than 14 games. But dealing with a rash of injuries for more than half of this season at an age when many NFL players start to break down make it fair to wonder if 2025 was an anomaly or a sign of things to come should Evans keep playing.
There are three possible scenarios here: 1) Evans retires; 2) he returns to the Bucs; or 3) he goes to a new team in 2026.
Evans has hinted at retiring, telling The Athletic in September:
"I plan on having one of my best seasons, and if I retire after this year, I don't think it will be a shock to people."
Not long after this interview, Evans got hurt, making it a rough season for him and a nightmare for Tampa Bay, as the Bucs lost seven of their last nine games to finish 8-9 and lose out on the NFC South to the Carolina Panthers. If Evans wanted to go out with a bang, he wouldn't be doing that.
Evans told Jenna Laine of ESPN after the regular-season finale against Carolina that he won't decide for "maybe a month or two."
If Evans opts to continue playing, the Bucs would be wise to keep him.
He's the best receiver in franchise history -- by far -- and a franchise legend, and fans don't like it when teams move on from players like that.
But from a football standpoint, it's fair to wonder how Evans would figure into the Bucs' plans. Garrett Poddell of CBSSports wrote that Evans "could garner the type of $15 million-$22 million per-year deal that his peers like Davante Adams, Stefon Diggs and Cooper Kupp signed last offseason."
The Bucs are emphasizing defense this offseason, as that unit finished 20th in the league in scoring defense this season.
With promising young receivers like Emeka Egbuka and Jalen McMillan, and veteran Chris Godwin still around, it might be wise for the Bucs to spend their money elsewhere, unless Evans agrees to a hometown discount.
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