Getty
(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
On March 9, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported, citing sources, that the San Francisco 49ers and veteran wide receiver Mike Evans agreed to a three-year contract worth up to $60.4 million.
Evans spent 12 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, becoming the franchise’s all-time leading scorer with 662 points.
The veteran wide receiver also recorded 11 consecutive seasons with 1,000 receiving yards, tying Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for the most consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in NFL history.
As a result, former 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman didn’t hold back his thoughts to see San Francisco give Brock Purdy a big target wide receiver.
“This is a move that I thought made a lot of sense in a lot of ways for both sides, but I wasn’t sure Mike Evans would ever leave Tampa Bay,” Sherman said on the March 9 edition of “The Richard Sherman Podcast.” “The conversations with Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch must have been fantastic, because he’s a San Francisco 49er now.
“A three-year, up to $60 million deal for a true X receiver, a future Hall of Famer, a guy who can change the complexity of a game in a heartbeat, a guy you can throw a 50-50 ball to and he’ll make a play. He runs the entire route tree. A true X receiver. 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, aggressive, a great blocker, a great teammate.
“If you think about it on the field, he’s going to be a fantastic addition, a safety blanket for Brock Purdy. I would guess he’s getting 120 targets this season. Fingers crossed he stays totally healthy. I know this is going to help the San Francisco 49ers immensely in this, again, arms race in the NFC West.”
49ers Get Called Out Over Reported Decision on Mike Evans
Despite the championship experience that Evans brings to the team, he’s on the older side as he’ll be 33 before the 2026 NFL season starts. As a result, 49ers beat reporter for On SI, Grant Cohn, shared his stance on why he opposes this reported signing.
“The 49ers need to get younger and faster, particularly on offense,“ Cohn said on March 9. “So, of course, they just signed 32-year-old wide receiver Mike Evans to a three-year deal, which means the oldest team in the NFL just got older… The Niners have an injury issue. They have an old-player issue, and now they have an older, injury-prone player to add to the mix.
“I think it’s just a perfect fit for this culture, for this organization. Are they serious about winning a Super Bowl? No. They’re serious about getting players who will fill the stands.
“Now Mike Evans is going to be there. Go watch Mike Evans in the twilight of his career. Is he going to win a Super Bowl? Is he going to score a touchdown against the Seahawks? No, probably not. But he’s going to make a lot of money, and you’re going to pay a lot of money to see him.“
Niners Get More Praise Over Mike Evans News
Although Cohn is calling out for the Niners for adding another veteran player rather than getting young on offense, ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky is a fan of the move.
“I don’t think there are a ton of corners in the NFL that you can just say, ‘Hey, yes, you can go cover Mike Evans down inside that red-zone area one-on-one by yourself.‘ So he’s still going to be a focal part of their pass game in the middle of the field and working the middle of the field. But you get down in that goal-line spot, good luck,“ Orlovsky said on the March 9 edition of “NFL Live.”
“And now, if you think about it, Kyle Shanahan is going to have this piece that he can move around to attract either one-on-one matchups or attention. And then George Kittle, once he gets back, is more space. Christian McCaffrey is going to have more space. McCaffrey was tasked with doing so much last year, all-encompassing for this offense. This is a massive addition for San Francisco.”
Eduardo Razo Eduardo Razo is a sports writer for Heavy.com, covering the NFL, MLB, and college football. He has previously covered the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has freelanced for PSG Talk, covering Paris Saint-Germain. He also worked as an editor at Athlon Sports, focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo
More Heavy on 49ers
Loading more stories