Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans signed a contract extension with the team on March 4th. The extension is for two years worth $52 million, with $35 million of that as guaranteed money.

Evans has been one of the best and most consistent receivers in the NFL over the past decade, so with free agency about to start a week from today, the Buccaneers had to lock him up for the near future. 

Evans is coming off of one of the finest years of his career in his age 30 season, where he put up an impressive 1,255 yards and tied his career-high of 13 touchdowns. Usually, crossing over the 30-year age mark is a red flag for receivers, but Evans has shown no signs of slowing down thus far into his career. Heading into his 11th NFL season, Evans is yet to have a year with less than 1,000 receiving yards, even in years when he has missed multiple games; while Evans’ name may not always be mentioned as a top 5-10 receiver in the league, no one has been a more consistently productive receiver than him.

The Buccaneers surprised many fans in 2023, making it to the divisional round of the playoffs, when their expectations heading into the year were for them to be subpar without Tom Brady. With things not looking as grim as expected in Tampa Bay, keeping a key piece of their offense in Mike Evans is absolutely essential for the future. With the future of the quarterback position for the Buccaneers still up in the air, whoever steps into the starting role in 2024 will inherit a great cast of offensive playmakers with Evans, Chris Godwin, Rachaad White, and Cade Otton. It’s been a hot topic in the NFL rumor mill lately that Baker Mayfield will likely be resigned by the Buccaneers, but anything is possible with quarterback contracts being more expensive than ever and the Buccaneers having multiple other big name free agents such as Antoine Winfield Jr, Devin White, and Lavonte David.

With free agency about to get started in the oncoming week, resigning Mike Evans is a great first step in keeping the Buccaneers in playoff contention for the near future. Evans currently sits at 33rd and 14th all time in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns respectively, but if he can make the most out of these two years on his new contract, he could find himself in the top 10 for both categories before his next contract.