'I Just Felt It': Mike Evans Knew Buccaneers Return Was Inevitable

Mike Evans knew a return to Tampa was likely, which led to a contract extension before free agency opened.

This offseason has been seen as a win for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers early on. Returning two key free agents — Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans — has headlined a free agency class compiled of mainly former Buccaneers making a return.

For Evans, he finally had a chance to branch out and become a free agent, which marked the first time in his career it was really possible.

"I've never been a free agent before and I was about to be one, but, you know, before the period, the Bucs and I were able to reach a deal. I just felt like it was a win-win situation for me, honestly," Evans said.

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The Buccaneers signed Evans to a two-year, $52 million deal to keep him in Tampa through his 11th and 12th season in the NFL — all of which will have come with the same franchise. Still, there were plenty of other options for Evans.

"Going home, that would have been cool," Evans continued. "I'm from Galveston, played at [Texas] A&M. Houston's right in the middle of that. Everybody wanted me to play in Houston, or they wanted me to play with the Chiefs or something."

Going home, which would allow Evans to play for an up-and-coming Houston Texans team, seemed to be appealing for him. The same goes for Kansas City and playing for the reigning champions in the Chiefs. Still, Evans chose loyalty.

"I just knew that at the end of the day, I was going to go back to Tampa," Evans claimed. "I just felt it. It would have been cool to be a free agent and see what other teams had to offer. Tampa has shown me plenty of love and it's a place I want to be for the rest of my career."

Now, Evans has the opportunity to continue his streak of 1,000 receiving yard seasons, which has lasted the length of his career, all coming in a Buccaneers jersey. The franchise also has him and Mayfield to structure an offensive game plan around, something that worked well a season ago.

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