![\"Mike](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/mike-evans-tampa-bay-buccaneers.jpg\")
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(Photo by Mike Ehrmann\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Just one day after Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a> wide receiver Mike Evans<\/a> implored his agent to set the record straight on false reports about his retirement<\/a>, the legendary playmaker decided to do it himself.<\/p>\n According to multiple reports, Evans will play a 13th NFL<\/a> season in 2026, although there\u2019s no guarantee the coveted free agent will play for the Buccaneers, where he\u2019s spent his entire career to this point<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWR Mike Evans WILL return in 2026,\u201d ESPN\u2019s Kimberley A. Martin<\/a> wrote on her official X account on Tuesday. \u201cHis agents Deryk Gilmore + Darren Jones tell me the future HOFer will play this upcoming season \u2014 and *will* explore his free agency options. One of the league\u2019s most consistent playmakers will be back \u2014 but we\u2019ll see if it\u2019ll be w\/ the Bucs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBucs receiver Mike Evans plans to play in 2026 and explore options in free agency, according to his agent Deryk Gilmore,\u201d Tampa Bay Times NFL reporter Rick Stroud wrote on his official X account<\/a>. \u201cBucs would be in play. \u2018Yes, that\u2019s correct. He is opening it up<\/a>,\u2019 Gilmore said. \u2018That he will play next season with someone. It could be Tampa but Will definitely play a 13th season.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n Evans set the NFL record for most consecutive seasons to start a career with 1,000 receiving yards and tied Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice<\/a> with 11 consecutive seasons of 1,000 receiving yards in 2024.<\/p>\n Evans, who will turn 33 years old in August, is coming off his worst season as a pro \u2014 a year in which he missed a career-high 9 games<\/a> and saw his record streak of 1,000-yard seasons come to an end as the Buccaneers missed the playoffs for the 1st time since 2019.<\/p>\n Evans Grew Tired of False Retirement Reports<\/p>\n Evans\u2019 sent a clear message on fake reports online about his retirement via a\u00a0lengthy statement from his agent, Deryk Gilmore<\/a>\u00a0on Monday night.<\/p>\n \u201cRecently, there have been multiple false and misleading posts circulating online about\u00a0Mike Evans<\/a>,\u201d Gilmore said in a press release on Sunday. \u201cIn regards to ANY media posts on any platform (Facebook, Tiktok, Instagram or X), if it does not come directly from Mike Evans\u2019 official page or from his Family Foundation page, please assume it is NOT real \u2026 Mike Evans values authenticity and transparency with his fans. When there is news to share, you will hear it directly from him or through his official platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n Evans is a 6-time Pro Bowler, 2-time NFL All-Pro and Super Bowl champion who just played the final season of the 2-year, $52 million contract he signed in March 2024.<\/p>\n Spotrac projects Evans<\/a> could be in line to receive something in the range of a 2-year, $26.6 million contract in the open market.<\/p>\n Fox Sports NFL reporter Greg Auman<\/a> predicted Evans will return to the Buccaneers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s likely he finishes his career with the Bucs, but leave open the slim chance he goes somewhere like Houston, close to his hometown of Galveston, with a strong contender he could help,\u201d Auman wrote.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tTony Adame<\/a> covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Buccaneers\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty (Photo by Mike Ehrmann\/Getty Images) Just one day after Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans implored…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":158992,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-158991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158991"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158991\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/158992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}